The Academy
by Damia - Queen of the Gypsi's
Summary: Minako decides that she's not good enough to be a leader, so she asks Pluto to send her somewhere where she can learn to be a true leader. Guess where she's sent? Can she hack it?
1. The need to be

~*~*~*

The Need To Be

~*~*~*

  


The blonde girl sat quietly. She was going to prove herself as a leader. She had to. She was seventeen and Chaos had been defeated a year before. If she was to be a good leader, she had to be strong in both mind and body. At the same time, she couldn't have the other girls teach her because she had to be the best. She sighed in frustration. She was about to do something incredibly bold, and maybe even a little stupid. She took a deep breath.

"As Princess of Venus and a fellow senshi, I request a boon of the Guardian of the Time Lines," She cried loudly in the middle of her room. A dark mist swirled around her and she was suddenly standing in front of a tall gate with symbols all over it. A tall woman with long dark green hair that was half up in a bun came forward. 

"Hello Venus," She said with a slight bow of the head.

"Hello Pluto," Minako answered.

"It has been a long while since I last heard a formal request to be in my presence," Pluto said, looking at her curiously.

"As the guardian of the gates, you probably already know what I want," Minako said with a grin.

"As of right now, I know that there are three possible questions that you will ask," Pluto started with a mysterious smile, "I admit that it is very slight that you will ask one of them," 

"Well than I'll just ask. Will you please send me to the best school you can think of so that I may become a better leader?" She asked. She thought a moment, "And please make it so that I'm not way ahead of the time," She said with a shrug.

"I must admit, that this is the one that had the smallest odds," Pluto told her. Minako looked at the woman in surprise.

"Was it a bad question? Will it have horrible results?" Minako asked worriedly.

"No and yes my dear," Setsuna said sadly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Minako cried.

"You have a chance for either the best possible outcome, or the worst. It depends on how you choose your course," Setsuna said with a nod.

"Sometimes I want to wring that overly mysterious, oh-so-suave, all-knowing, smug look from your very neck," Minako said with a frown.

"You are no longer going to see the girls until your training is over, or another emergency occurs. For now I am going to teach you the ways of the far distant future. A future in which Crystal Tokyo doesn't exist. It is torn with wars, and pain. You will be training with the elite. A few years before the time that I am sending you, There was a rather large war. Five young men were trained to fight in it with special units called gundums," Pluto told the girl. There was a screen with pictures flying across it. Pluto gave the history of the gundum pilots and the colonies.

"So now the wars are over, right?" Minako asked.

"Yes, now pay attention. It is four years after the wars have ended. The boys are teaching an elite school for the gifted. There are very few females excepted, and those that are generally quit within a few weeks. The boys teach at this school and rule over it with iron fists. You will have courses with each of them, and a few other people. One of these people will be Relena Peacecraft," Pluto told her.

"She's the one that believed that peace through words and not guns is the only way, isn't she?" Minako asked.

"That is correct," Pluto said with a nod.

"It's a nice thought, but unfortunately the human mind does not work that way. At least she's probably a very nice and docile person," Minako said with a smile.

"Do not judge a book by it's cover," Setsuna said drily, "And that is the correct person. You will be a transfer student to Gundum Academy from Moon Hallow. I do know that you have basic understanding of fighting and planning, I am going to stretch those abilities quickly by using a few of your past selves," Pluto pointed her time key at the blonde. Minako flew back and was suspended in mid-fall by invisible winds that whipped her hair around her body, but held everything else motionless. twenty seconds later it was over and Minako was standing in front of Setsuna. 

"It was probably a good thing that I don't really like violence," Minako groaned.

"More than likely. I am putting you on a freighter, you will have everything you need in one of four bags," Pluto said with a nod.

"My wardrobe fits in four bags?" Minako said, horrified.

"Minako, you are going to an elite military school where very few girls go, and those that do are all masculine," The woman told the girl.

"Then these guys are in for a rude awakening. I had better have distinctly female clothes, even if they are made for rough and tumble things, and they had better be bright," she said with a frown.

"You are leaving now. A word to the wise. Do not fall back on complete shock if a boy does something you don't like. Think of Rei and Haruka, then do as they would," Setsuna said with a smile.

"Alright," Minako said, a little confused. She shrugged as the floor disappeared from beneath her.

  


  



	2. Fox in Military clothing

  


~*~*~*

The Fox in Military Clothes

~*~*~*

  


Minako dropped into a sitting position in a small private suite on some sort of ship. She was pretty sure that she was in space. Four bags appeared on the seats next to her. She looked down at her clothes and decided to change. She was wearing a red skirt and ballet flats with white tights and a white tuxedo shirt. She opened one of the bags to see stacks of clothes that all looked the same. She made a face and opened one of the other bags. She pulled out a pair of orange yoga pants and a white spaghetti strapped shirt that had oranges on it. She pulled them on and then grabbed a pair of white sneakers. Her hair fell over her shoulder and she suddenly realized she was going to have to do something about it. She pulled out the bow and french braided the entire thing, putting the bow at the bottom. she pulled on a black leather coat that fell to her hips and waited for the trip to end. She didn't have to wait long. 

She grabbed all the bags and walked off the carrier. She stood straight in the crowd, looking around. She wasn't tall, but neither was she short. She looked around. Pluto, or 'Instructor Meiou' as Minako was to refer to her, had told her that someone would be there to get her. She looked around. As far as she could see, no one was there. She dropped the bags after a few more minutes. It was rather warm in the area. She took off her coat and tossed it onto her bags. She stretched her arms up above her head and yawned.

"How much?" asked a slimy voice. She turned and saw a tall, skinny man with greasy brown hair that was slicked back. He looked her up and down. she gave him a disgusted look.

"Sorry, not for sale," She said with a frown.

"You're showing off your wares so everyone can see," The man told her. His hands darted forward and they ran up the length of her side in two seconds flat. She thought of the words that Pluto had told her, 'think of Rei and Haruka'. Minako smirked at the man. She quickly grabbed his 'family jewels' and twisted, not letting go.

"Now I could have sworn that I said no. I'm not for sale now, nor have I ever, or will I ever be. Do you understand me now?" She asked in a pleasant voice.

"Yes," He squeaked.

"Good, and I do hope that you enjoyed that little feel, that's all you'll ever get," She let go, shoving him backwards at the same time.

"Nicely done," a voice said from behind her. She turned and saw a man about three inches taller than herself. He had violet blue eyes and a long chestnut colored braid.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Duo Maxwell, Miss Aino," He said with a smile.

"You're the one from the academy?" She asked, eyeballing him. She knew exactly who he was. Duo Maxwell, pilot 02, self proclaimed Shinigami, pilot of the Gundum Death-Scythe Hell. 

"That would be me," He said with a grin.

"Didn't think I was the girl?" She asked with a grin.

"What do you mean?" He asked, a look of curiosity in his eyes.

"When I came off the transport you were leaning against the wall, reading the paper over some mans shoulder. Two minutes later you moved across the hall and the man with the paper left. You saw me, but you kept looking at the entrance," She told him with a grin.

"You're good," He said with a smile.

"Thank you," She said with a nod.

"So you were watching me, huh?" He asked with a grin.

"I was watching everyone," She told him with a shrug.

"Sure you were," He said with a grin.

"You are exactly like one of my friends," She said with a small smile.

"Well, let me get your bags, your chariot awaits," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," She said with a smile.

"No problem," He grabbed her bags and led her to a jeep. He hopped in and they took off. After a few moments he started to talk.

"You don't really look like the rest of the girls that try to go here," He told her.

"Is that good or bad?" She asked with a grin.

"Neither, just different," He said with a shrug.

"None of them made it, right?" She asked.

"That would be correct. They couldn't hack it with the guys. No offense miss," He said quickly.

"The name is Minako, and no offense taken. Those girls dressed like the guys, and tried to act like the guys. The problem was probably that they were against the real thing. You can't expect to pass for a boy, no matter how good you act, if you're in a room full of boys. I'm going to last a whole hell of a lot longer because I am who I am and no one can change that. I've dealt with worse than these boys can dish out," She told him.

"Man, now you sound like Dorothy, let's just hope that you don't have her talent to drop a mans ego in .5 seconds," He said with a grin. 

"Oh, the big strong instructor afraid of a little tiny female student? You are obviously used to being around girls like my friends," She said with a smile.

"Here we are," Duo said. They pulled into a long driveway that curved around. There were lawns on both sides and a huge building in front. He drove the jeep around the back and took three of her bags. She grabbed the last one and followed him. There were five small buildings outside the main building. He explained them.

"Those five are for the boys' barracks. each of us pilots beds down in one to keep an eye on everything. The girls stay in the main building. Miss Peacecraft watches over you. And you are the only female presently attending. We have a mostly female team, and yet a mostly male crew. It's kind of sad," He said with a frown. 

"You're just upset that you can't show off to more females," She told him.

"That just might be true," he answered truthfully.

"Of course it is. Then again, you have four others to compete with and you don't have the mysterious quality of one, the dangerous and brooding of the other two and the sweet gentle nature of the other," She told him.

"Trying to pit me against my friends?" He asked.

"Just trying to put you back in a pseudo-quasi-sane mood," She told him.

"Now I'm confused," Duo said.

"Pseudo-Quasi-sane, sanity that has been feigned to some level," a voice said from behind them in the room. They turned to see another young man. He had light blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"You must be Instructor Winner," Minako said, holding out her hand. He took it and shook.

"Just Quatre please. You are Minako Aino?" He asked. She had put back on the coat, but she looked distinctly feminine.

"That would be correct, and before you say anything, I know that I look extremely female," She said with a smile.

"It was a pleasant surprise," He told her.

"I definitely thought so," Duo agreed.

"Yes, but his thoughts didn't have lecherous leanings," She answered as she thought to herself, '_man, those memory's are making me sound like Ami, weird,_' 

"More than likely," Duo agreed.

"Relena is in her office, take Minako there. Relena can see to the rest, and we need your help as soon as possible. Derek rewired another vehicle," Quatre said with a sigh.

"How fast did it go before he burnt it out?" Duo asked excitedly.

"You are really not helping to stop this," Quatre accused.

"I wasn't aware that I had to. He's not doing anything horrible, in fact, he's making things a lot more interesting," Duo said with a smile. He led the blonde girl down a few halls and stopped outside a pink door and knocked.

"Come in," a voice said on the other side. Duo held the door open for the girl. Inside was a pretty girl with honey colored hair and cornflower blue eyes. She smiled slightly.

"Hey Relena, this is the new chick-," Duo started before he was cut off by Minako.

"I'll make my own introductions if your going to term me as a chick, and if I hear you call me a chick again no one will have to worry about you procreating. So please remember that I'm not a little ball of fluff," She held her hand out to Relena, "I am Minako Aino," She told the other woman.

"I think we will get along perfectly," Relena said with a smile. Duo was staring at the girl in surprise.

"I hope so, I've heard wonderful things about you," Minako told her with a smile.

"Well thank you very much," Relena said with a smile, "Follow me, I'll show you to your room," They walked out the door, Duo still carrying Minako's bags in shock. They came to a door and it was opened.

"You may go now Duo," She told the boy. He nodded and walked out the door.

"All this for me? I thought this was an elite military school," Minako said. She looked around herself. There was a twin bed on one side with a fluffy yellow comforter. The walls were a softer yellow color. There was a dresser farther away, and three doors.

"What are those for?" Minako asked.

"You're the only girl here right now," Relena started seriously, "They don't usually last very long. You are two months into your first term and seven girls started it. You are entitled to a bit of luxury. You'll be in with the first year class. This is your room, that door is a bathroom, that one walks into a sort of sitting room that we both share, and that one is your closet," Relena said, pointing them out.

"That is definitely more than I was expecting," Minako said with a nod.

"You aren't quite what I was expecting," Relena said with a smile. 

"It's my opinion that the other girls couldn't make it, because they were trying to be someone that they weren't," Minako said with a shrug. She pulled off her coat and tossed it on one of five hooks on the wall. 

"That is exactly what I thought," Relena said with a smile.

"If this is my room, can I decorate it?" Minako asked.

"No problem," Relena said with a smile, "I'll leave you to your unpacking," With that the other girl left and Minako was alone. She opened all of her bags and dumped them out. She found framed pictures of her and her friends. she smiled knowing that Pluto had made sure she had them. She put pins in the walls and hung some of them up, placing the rest around the room. She put three of them on a small table by her bed. One was her and the inners playing in a pool; one was her and the outers in Haruka's car, and one was of the cats asleep on her bed. She put all of her clothes, minus the uniforms, in her closet, and put the uniforms in the dresser. 

Minako's uniform consisted of black army-type pants, a black tee shirt (In Minako's case it was a little large on her even if it was an Men's XXS) a pair of black sneakers, and a black hat. 

Someone knocked on her door as she finished unpacking. She went to the door and opened it.

"Yes?" She asked the young man in front of her. He was tall, about seven inches taller than herself. He had a long bang covering half his face and all she could see was a serious expression and a beautiful green eye. 

"Miss Aino?" He asked.

"Just Minako, Instructor Barton," Minako said with a smile. He looked at her, a little curiosity shining in the visible eye. 

"Instructor Trowa," He said, holding out a hand. She shook it.

"What can I do for you?" She asked. 

"Schedule," he said, handing her a list.

"Thanks, do I have classes today?" She asked. He shook his head in the negative.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" She asked. His eyebrow raised, "smile and I'll be your best friend," She said with an impish grin. He smiled at her and walked away. She shrugged and closed the door. It looked like she had 9 hour days. Three classes a day, two hours a class, six days a week. The schedule confused her though, it didn't say what the classes were, it just said the teacher and a place ot go. She left her room and walked down the hall to Relena's office and knocked.

"Come in," her voice called. Minako came in.

"Uh, the paper doesn't say which class is which," She said, confused.

"Who gave you the paper? He was supposed to explain that,"

"Instructor Trowa," Minako answered.

"That would explain it. Oh well, here let me explain. There is no way of telling what the guys are going to teach from one instant to the next, they talk it over with themselves and then decide who's teaching what for the week," Relena told her.

"But what about you?" Minako.

"That's easy, I only teach one class, politics," She said with a smile.

"I can see where that would be a plus," Minako said thoughtfully.

"Most of the kids here don't," Relena said with a smile.

"That's because they're just that, kids," Minako said with a shrug.

"Class two is almost over. So just in case you don't understand let me explain. First class starts promptly at 7 am, it ends at 9 am, maybe a little over depending. You have free time until 11 am, at which time Class two will start. At 1 you are free again for another 2 hours during which is lunch time, at 3 you have another class until 5pm. An hour and a half after that you have dinner. Remember that this is a three year school, and you never know what the instructors might teach. Keep an open mind. I'll grab someone to show you around," She picked up a button and dialed a number.

"Can you send over someone who's done? . . . It's to show the new girl around, . . . I think you're in for a surprise Wufei, . . . Alright," she hung up and looked at the girl. 

"So someone's coming?" Minako asked.

"I expect him in a few moments," Relena said with a smile. 

"Who is it?" Minako asked.

"I don't know, some third year," Relena said. There was a knock on the door and Relena called for the person to come in.

"Hello Greg," She said with a smile. Standing in front of the girls was a boy about Duo's height with dark blonde hair and light brown eyes. 

'_What a cutie, not as Hot as the instructors, but still cute,_' Minako thought. 

"Hello Instructor Relena," The boy said with a nod. After a cursory look at Minako he ignored her. The girl gave the back of his head a glare that almost equaled Heero's.

"I would like you to show our new student around Greg. Minako, met Greg," Relena gestured for Minako to come forward.

"That's the new student!?" He asked.

"No, I'm a cabbage," She told him sincerely. He looked at her a little closer.

"Alright, let's see your schedule," He said. She handed it to him, "Follow me," He led her out of the office with an annoyed look on his face.

"Alright buster, let's get one thing straight before we go one more inch," Minako said angrily as the door closed behind them. "I may not look like I can do much, but I wouldn't have gotten in if I couldn't, right?" She asked.

"None of the other girls made it, it's just a matter of time before you fall to," He said with a shrug. She glared at him.

"No, I wont fall, I've had more experience then any other student in this school, hands down. You don't know me, so don't judge me, let's get on with the tour," She stared at him.

"Follow me," He said. She did. They stopped outside a room that was empty at the moment and had instruments. "This is Instructor Quatre's place," He told her. She made a mark of it in her mind. 

"Why the music room?" She asked.

"Every now and then he teaches us about music," The boy moved off again, "This is the Den," He went on and showed her the rest of her classes, and then took her back to her room. She went inside. She could only remember a few of them. She groaned.

Minako's schedule looked like this:

Monday - Wufei (Hand to hand in Gym)

Relena (politics in Ball Room)

Heero (Targeting in Front lawns)

Tuesday - Meg (Foraging in Green House)

Duo (Engineering in Garage)

Sally (Forging in Study)

Wednesday - Wufei (Hand to hand in Gym)

Dorothy (weapons building in East Lawns)

Heero (Targeting in Front lawns)

Thursday - Quatre (Strategy in Music Room)

Freddy (Espionage in Library)

Rachel (Memory Enhancement in Den)

Friday - Trowa (Stealth in Back Lawns)

Mindy (Hacking in Computer lab)

John/Sam (Cooking in Kitchens)

Saturday - Quatre (Strategy in Music Room)

Trowa (Stealth in Back Lawns)

Duo (Engineering in Garage)

  



	3. Dinner time

  


~*~*~*

Dinner Time

~*~*~*

  


Minako had fallen asleep when her door was suddenly thrown open. She woke up with a start.

"Come on Sleeping Beauty, fifteen minutes to dinner," Duo told her with a grin. Minako yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Coming," She told him. She went to her closet and pulled out an orange zip-up sweatshirt that matched her pants. She walked over to Duo.

"Let's go, I want food," He said with a gleam in his eyes. She laughed.

"Why'd you come to get me?" She asked.

"Relena told me to, apparently she wants to introduce you," He said with a shrug. Minako smiled.

"Then let's go," She said.

"Just to let you know, you aren't required to wear the uniform unless you're doing something messy," He told her. She nodded.

"That would make a little sense," she said with a grin.

"The uniforms are a lot easier to clean, and you can't see stains as easily on black," He told her with a shrug.

"I'll just wear it the first week and see how it goes," She said with a shrug. 

"A good plan," He agreed. They came to a massive dining room and he brought her up to the front.

"Thank you Duo," Relena said with a smile. Minako smiled back.

"Alright, everyone, this is Minako," Relena started to the group around the table, "Minako, these are the rest of your teachers, Instructors Heero, Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, Sally, Dorothy, Rachel, Freddy, Mindy and Meg. John and Sam are cooking right now," She told the girl.

"Nice to meet you all," She said with a smile. 

"Dinner starts in five, I'll bring you over to some of my boys," Duo said with a smile. He grabbed a roll off the table and started to follow him as the teachers started to talk.

"She looks like a weak Onna," Wufei commented.

"She might just surprise you," Relena said with a grin.

"She seems to have Duo pretty strung," Rachel said with a grin.

"He's like that with anyone who has looks," Dorothy said with a grin.

Duo was leading Minako to the end of one of the many small rectangular tables. He stopped and smiled at them.

"Hey guys," He said with a grin. He finished the roll, "I want you to meet Minako," He said with a smile. There were seven guys at that end of the table. 

"Hey," They chorused before laughing.

"These animals are in all three years, and are definitely the best in my class," He told Minako.

"Awe, Shucks," One of them said sarcastically.

"This is Trent, he's the smart ass, but thankfully I don't have to deal with him anymore after this year," Duo said with a grin.

"Hi, I'm Minako, I just got here today," She told them.

"She's gonna eat with you guys," Duo told them. He walked away, leaving Minako and the boys.

"Sit down," Another boy said. He had wavy black hair and light green eyes. He scooted over and let her in next to him and a boy with red hair, blue eyes and freckles.

"Thanks," She said with a smile.

"I'm Derek and this is Mel," The boy told her, "Max," He had brown eyes and dark brown hair, "Donny," He had died blue hair and brown eyes, "George," Hazel eyes and Light brown hair, "Vince," dark blonde hair and light blue eyes, "And his brother Trent, " Dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

"I'm Minako Aino," She told them with a grin.

"You're hot," Donny said with a grin. 

"I know," She said with a smile. The guys laughed.

"Where did you meet Duo?" Max asked.

"He was supposed to pick me up," She told them.

"Supposed to?" George asked.

"He did pick me up, but it was an hour late," She said with a grin.

"Duo, late?" Mel asked.

"No, he was there, he just wouldn't believe that I was the girl he was supposed to pick up," She said with a laugh.

"Generally girls that come here look or act like guys," Vince said with a shrug.

"Not me," Minako answered.

"So we noticed," Trent told her, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Why, if I didn't know any better I would say that you were checking me out," Minako said with a grin.

"You never know," He said with a smile. A gong sounded.

"Dinner's being served," Derek said happily. People brought out large pots of spaghetti and put them in the middle of the tables and then put baskets of bread. The boys started to dig in and Minako hung back until they were done. She piled her plate with more than the boys were eating and sat down. She started to shovel the food in and then she walked over to the bowl and got more. The boys looked at her in shock. She gave them a questioning look.

"Dude, you eat almost as much as Duo," Mel said in surprise.

"My friend Usagi eats almost four times as much as me," Minako said with a smile. They all looked at her as if she had four heads.

"You're a first year, right?" Derek asked.

"That would be a yes," Minako nodded.

"Cool, all the first years have the same classes. During the second and third year classes it depends on what you're really good at and what you suck at," He said with a smile.

"What do you all do for fun?" Minako asked. The boys grinned evilly at her.

"What?" She asked. They were still giving her the funny looks.

"Do you want to see first hand?" George asked.

"Oh hell no, if this is another attempt for some guy to sleep with me," Minako started, annoyed. They all laughed.

"No, we have a tendency to wreak havoc on the other barracks. It comes with being in Duo's wing," Trent told her.

"What about the girls' wing?" She asked.

"What about it? Usually it's empty," Vince reminded her.

"Well it wont be for the next few years," Minako said with a shrug.

"Depending on which crew you suit the most," Donny explained.

"Crew?" Minako asked.

"You'll see. Since there's only one of you, you can't be a crew. Instead you'll be put in one of the other crews instead. They like to mix the crews up between each other, but it's not so bad," Max told her.

"It just means more diversity," Trent said with a smile. everyone finished their meals at about the same time.

"Now what?" She asked as boys started to pick up their dishes and line up with them.

"Drop the pans and you're free," Derek said with a smile.

"Unless you have to fix certain vehicles," Came a stern female voice from behind them. Derek turned around with a grin, not seemingly surprised at all.

"What a pleasant surprise Instructor Dorothy," He told her.

"Cut the crap. You have to come with me, and so does the newbie," Dorothy said with a wink at Minako.

"I'll get your plates," Trent said with a smile.

"Time for more fun," Derek cheered. They started out at a brisk pace.

"Settling in Miss Aino?" Dorothy asked.

"My names Minako, and yes thank you," Minako answered.

"Derek here has a habit of rewiring things to do other than what they were originally meant for," Dorothy said shortly.

"I like to make them more interesting," Derek said primly. Dorothy snorted loudly.

"You like to cause more mischief," She told him, smacking him playfully on the arm.

"That could be the reason as well," He conceded.

"Go in there, Duo should be along soon," She told him as they came to the garage. 

"See you later instructor, see you tomorrow morning Minako," Derek said with a cheery wave. He disappeared into the building with a whistle.

"That one's going to be trouble. I said it the first class I had with him, and I'll say it again now," Dorothy said with a laugh.

"So what am I doing?" Minako asked.

"You are being tested," She told her with a shrug.

"On what?" Minako asked.

"On everything I can think of for the next two hours," Dorothy said with a shrug.

"Is that all?" Minako asked with a shrug.

"Pretty much. What sort of weapons do you prefer?" Dorothy asked her as they came to a large shed in the east lawns.

"Uh, What do you have?" Minako asked.

"What can you think of?" Dorothy countered.

"In that case My favorites are, Steel fans (preferably with points), Bull Whips, Throwing knives, retractable staffs, bow and arrows (Both cross and long), Sais, numchucks, ninja stars, and poison," Minako answered. She quickly thought to herself '_Man, I just completely weirded myself out. I'm pretty sure that before I talked to Setsuna I didn't even know what most of those things were and the only reason I knew the others was because of the ninja turtles. Now I sound like Rei and Makoto having an argument with Haruka over which weapon is more dangerous,'_

"On hand we have the whip, the knives, the staff, the numchucks, the stars, and the poison," Dorothy said.

"Damn, the fans are my favorite," Minako said with a frown.

"Those are pretty hard to teach," Dorothy told her.

"I mastered them a while back," Minako said with a shrug. _'A long way back. In fact, over a millennium ago,'_ She thought to herself.

"I'd like to see you use them soon," Dorothy said thoughtfully, "I might have you teach if your as good as you say," 

"Teach?" Minako asked in surprise.

"Yes, Relena needs to defend herself, but she doesn't want people to see her with weapons and wonder why she's carrying them. She says it will make them think that she's weak," Dorothy answered with a frown.

"No it wont. The people will understand that she's in a position of high authority and know that she needs to defend herself from those who do not share the hope of peace," Minako said with a frown.

"That's Relena for you," Dorothy said with a shrug.

"Doesn't she carry a compact around all of the time?" Minako asked.

"She has a small purse," Dorothy said.

"You guys just need to fix her clothes and teach her hidden attacks," Minako said with a shrug.

"What do you mean?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Fix the sleeves of what she wears so that you can put small throwing knives in it or a ninja star. Use some sort of catch so that she can toss them when she needs to but have them hidden from view," Minako answered.

"We thought of that. They would set off metal detectors," Dorothy answered.

"Not if you didn't use metal. Use some form of crystal. Preferably diamond as it's the least likely to break," Minako told her.

"You know what? I like you," Dorothy told the young girl.

"Thanks, I like you to," Minako said with a smile. 

"On with the test," Dorothy said with a grin. Dorothy told Minako to wait and then disappeared into the building. She came out a few minutes later with a few things they went around the shack and Minako smiled. On one of the walls there were two lines of targets. Five about her waist height, and five at about the top of her head. Dorothy put her bundle on the ground. 

"The weapons?" Minako asked.

"Yes. First are throwing knives. I want you to throw one hard enough to get it lodged in the wood deep enough to stay, but not so deep as to get stuck," Dorothy commanded. She handed Minako a belt with fourteen of them on it. Minako strapped on the belt and pulled one off, throwing it into the wall between two targets. She looked at Dorothy expectantly.

"Good, now hit all of the targets," Dorothy said.

"One at a time?" Minako asked. Dorothy nodded. In fifteen seconds all ten targets had been hit in the bulls-eye. Dorothy turned and looked at the girl.

"That was good," Dorothy said with a smile.

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for attention," Minako said with a grin.

"I'm sure you can use those properly. Go get the ones in the wall and take off the belt," Dorothy told her. She pulled something out of the bag and stretched. Minako came back.

"Staff," Dorothy said, tossing one to her. Minako caught it gracefully. She stretched for a few seconds.

"I'm ready," Minako told her. 

"Block all my hits," Dorothy told her. Minako pressed the button to extend the staff. Dorothy went through a series of simple maneuvers and Minako blocked them all. After that Dorothy started doing harder things. Dorothy stopped and looked at the girl.

"Now I want you to hit me," Dorothy said.

"Where?" Minako asked.

"Stomach, heart, one elbow and one knee," Dorothy said.

"I'll try not to hit you to hard," Minako said.

"I'm ready," Dorothy said with a smile. Minako nodded. She started simple and then faked a few moves and tapped the left elbow. Dorothy smiled.

"One down, three to go," Minako said with a smile. The staffs made resounding thwacks in the night air. Minako dropped and slid through dorothy's legs after about four minutes and popped back up before Dorothy could turn and hit the back of her right knee.

"Good move kid, you're fast," Dorothy said with a grin. Minako knew what that meant. It meant that she wasn't going to get it so easy now. They started again. Minako faked an opening and Dorothy fell for it, allowing Minako to twist the staff away and tap Dorothy on the chest.

"One left," Minako said with a nod. Dorothy started on the offense, leaving Minako to try and figure out what was going on. She took a couple of jabs to try and figure out what was going on. Dorothy smiled and slapped her staff back at her. Minako smiled in understanding. Dorothy was going to focus purely on offense so that Minako wouldn't be able to get in a good hit. The blonde girl shrugged her shoulders and started in on a flurry of motions that Dorothy blocked. Minako stopped about five minutes later and grinned. She slapped one end of the staff at Dorothy and when the woman went to block, Minako kicked it out her staff away and slammed the butt of her own into Dorothy's stomach. Dorothy flew back and hit the ground a few feet away. Minako's hand flew to her mouth and she ran for the woman.

"Are you alright?" She cried.

"I'm fine Aino. Do me a favor and hit Instructor Chang like that," Dorothy said with a grin. She took Minako's proffered hand and heaved herself up. They both turned at the sound of clapping.

"Nice job newbie," Derek said with a grin. He and Duo were standing and watching.

"You know, I'm in agreement with Dorothy, but I want to see you do it," Duo said with a smile.

"Duo, that sounds like a wonderful plan, but if you don't mind I need to finish testing her," Dorothy said with a smile.

"What's next?" Minako asked.

"I think we can deal with the stars next," Dorothy said with a nod. She reached into the bag and pulled out four of the deadly toys. She handed them to Minako, who smiled and felt their weight. 

"What do you want me to do?" Minako asked.

"Can you lodge them into the targets?" Dorothy asked.

"I can try," Minako said with a shrug. She flipped them all into four of the targets. 

"That's good. Now for the numchucks," she grabbed a pair and handed them to the petite blonde. 

"Just move with them for a little while," Dorothy said with a nod. Minako smiled and started. Her arms and hands moved of their own volition as she went through movements she didn't know that she knew. '_muscle memory is a great thing indeed,_' She thought to herself. about fifteen minutes an a lot of showing off later, Dorothy motioned her to stop. 

"Now for the whip," Dorothy said with a smile. Minako grinned. As Sailor Venus, her most often used weapon was the love chain, which in actuality was a whip. It was natural for her. The whip and the fans were the best. The fans were a weapon used by Venetian royalty for over a millennium. She had been galaxy renowned for her extensive knowledge of those two weapons in the silver millennium. She took the weapon from the woman and snapped it experimentally.

"Targets?" Minako asked.

"I point something out, you hit it," Dorothy said with a shrug.

"Let's get this going," Minako said with a grin.

"The leaf on the end of the tree branch," Dorothy pointed. 

"Just the leaf?" She snapped the whip. No noise was heard as the leaf was taken clean off and the branch didn't so much as tremble.

"Holy shit," Duo said.

"Such language in front of ladies?" Minako asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She's right Duo. Holy Fucking Shit makes more sense," Derek said with a nod. Minako shook her head and snapped the whip back, making it crack very loudly. She then flipped back and forth quickly, making a loud hissing noise. Then she snapped it once again, only this time she made it whistle.

"Alright, I think it's safe to say you have control over the whip," Dorothy said with a grin. 

"What's left?" Duo asked.

"Poison, but I have a feeling that she's fine with that," Dorothy said with a grin.

"Does that mean I get to go to bed?" Minako asked. Dorothy smiled and nodded. She motioned the two guys over to talk as Minako walked away. Minako walked up to the large building and raised an eyebrow at the guys that were sitting in front of a TV. They were watching her practice.

"Security camera's?" She asked wryly. Vince turned and grinned at her.

"We set up a system a while back so that we could watch them from the living room TV. We watch all the newbies show what they've got," He told her unabashedly.

"Figures," They were watching her toss the knives again.

"Dude, you're fantastic," Mel said in awe.

"If I had known you were watching I wouldn't have shown off," Minako said with a blush.

"I don't see anything special," Commented a boy with long blonde hair in a ponytail.

"Shut up Fred, you're just jealous," George told him with a glare.

"She's a show off, plain and simple. She wouldn't last a second in real combat," Another boy commented. He had short spiky black hair.

"Nobody cares what you say Sam," Trent told him with a glare.

"She's a girl," another guy said. People started to stick up for her and put her down. It seemed like their was almost a line down the middle. Minako pushed to the middle and got on the table.

"SHUT UP," She shouted loudly. They all stopped an looked at her. She gave the guys against her a glare a little worse than Heero's and gave a softened version of it to the other guys. She looked back at the other side and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"You don't know me, so don't you_ dare_ judge me. You don't know what I've been through, and you don't know what I'm capable of," She turned to the other side again. "As for you guys, You do not fight with your friends over something as stupid as this argument was. You ignore them. Jesus you're acting like five year olds. Do you have any idea what that looks like?" A couple of the other guys snickered. She turned. "don't laugh, you all did it to," She glared at all of them again. She scowled. "I hope that by tomorrow morning you are all acting your own age once again," She hopped down and walked out of the room. They all just stared at her as she walked out of the room and down the hall.

"Dude, she's hot," Someone said from the back.

"No shit," Another called.

"Dude, let's all save it. The instructors are gonna be pissed off if they find out what happened," Trent said with a grin.

"I'm for bed," Vince said with a grin. He wandered out and to his dorms. 

"Dude, It's only 9," Mel called.

"Curfews not for another hour," George called.

"I have a good dream waiting for me though," Vince said with a grin.

"My brother definitely has the right idea," Trent said with a grin.

  


  



	4. First Day Jitters?

Damia - "Im back, and I have fixed the chapters,"

  


Solatina - "As they have noticed,"

  


Wren - "We need lots of reviews because this chap is a little over twenty pages long,"

  


Solatina - "She doesn't own anything,"

  


  


  


~*~*~*~

First Day Jitters?

~*~*~*~

  


Minako hadn't had to go to classes at all until monday. She had arrived on Friday and she hadn't had to attend classes on saturday. Instead she and wandered around and watched a few classes that were going on. Sunday was their day off and Minako had hung out with her new friends. She liked the seven of them best. 

Minako's alarm went off at half past five monday morning. She really wasn't a morning person. She groaned and slapped her hand over the snooze button. She was laying on top of her covers wearing a skimpy yellow tanktop and a pair of matching boy-shorts. Her hair was down and all over the place. She fell back to sleep.

  


~~~~  


"Where's Minako? She's supposed to meet us here," Mel commented at 6.

"Watch the girl still be asleep," Vince said with a smile.

"Then we need to go get her, we have Wufei first thing," Derek said.

"Alright, You, me, and Max will go check," Trent said with a nod.

"Why you three?" George asked.

"They're least likely to ask questions if we do it," Trent said with a lop sided grin. The three of them walked out into the hall and over to the girls wing. Trent looked at Derek.

"You're the one out of us that remembers things, which room is hers?" He asked.

"The one that has the sign with her name on it," Derek said drily, pointing it out. Max laughed and knocked on the door. No one inside.

"Minako?" Trent called. There was a light groan.

"Are you alright?" Derek asked. There was another groan. Max pushed open the door. Minako's covers were now tangled around her legs and she was face down. Derek laughed at her. She leaned up and glared balefully at them.

"Go away, I want to sleep," She said before falling back onto her stomach.

"You're going to miss breakfast," Max said. She threw a pillow at them.

"Up-see daisy," Derek called. He walked over and opened her curtains, which faced the east and showed the rising sun.

"No one loves you," Minako muttered. She quickly untangled her blankets and pulled them over her head.

"Nope, that doesn't work," Max commented as he pulled her blankets off. She growled and buried her face in her hands.

"This is your own fault," Trent walked over and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. She started pounding in his back.

"Put me down, I'm sleepy," She cried.

"Sorry babe," Trent said with a laugh. The other two laughed with him. 

"Fine, I'm awake," She growled. He put her down.

"I hope this doesn't become a habit," He said with a grin. She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her tongue out at him. 

"You do realize what you're wearing, right?" Derek asked with a grin, hoping to make her blush. She looked down.

"My pajama's?" She asked, "I thought they didn't look half bad," She grinned evilly, "Why? Do they make my butt look big?" She asked. She turned and looked over her shoulder, letting all of them look.

"Derek, you're not gonna get the girl that easy," Max said with a laugh.

"Not when my last roommate was a guy," Minako said with a laugh.

"It's a quarter past 6," Max said.

"You guys wait here, I'll be out in five at the most," Minako said. She went over to her drawers and pulled a pair of pants and a shirt. She ran into her bathroom and changed quickly. She came out a two minutes later and grabbed a messenger bag. She stuck a brush, her bow, a couple notebooks, some pencils, and a hat into it before shoving her feet into a pair of sneakers. 

"Let's go," She said with a grin. They all ran for the cafeteria and sat down.

"What took so long?" Donny asked.

"The wench wouldn't get up," Trent said with a grin. Minako yawned and smiled. Her hair was still mussed from sleep. She was wearing the uniform. A pair of black cargo pants belted tightly at her waist, and a tucked in black tee-shirt. She was wearing a pair of black sneakers. She went over and put some scrambled eggs and sausage on a plate. They ate quickly and then sat and talked. Minako pulled the brush out of her bag and started to brush her hair. She then started to braid it to get it out of her face. She pulled the bow out and put it on the bottom of the braid before putting the brush back in the bag.

"Two minutes to class, how far away is Instructor Chang's room?" Minako asked. Her small group was the only one still there.

"Uh, if you want to be on time, we gotta run," Derek commented. He and Mel each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her off the bench.

"Gym?" Minako asked. They nodded. They all ran out the door, Minako's braid flying out in front of the two boys.

"We're gonna be late to," Vince said with a grin. He got up lazily and wandered off to the Ball room. He had politics with Relena. 

The three first years ran into the room with fifteen seconds left. They went to the back of the group of students.

"You were almost late," Wufei said with a glare.

"Sorry Instructor Chang, wont happen again," Minako said with a nod.

"Instructor Wufei," He said with a nod. Minako gave a small bow to which he raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't mean for him to notice," Derek whispered to Minako with a grin.

"Line up," Wufei said with a nod. They all moved to one of the walls and stood. Minako noted that most of the boys were wearing sweats and things like that. She shrugged. Wufei himself was wearing a black Gi and had a bamboo stick in his hand. He pointed the stick at her, and then at the floor in front of him. She walked out.

"Do you think you can beat me?" He asked. She looked him straight in the eye.

"I honestly don't believe so sir," She told answered.

"Fight me anyway," He said with a nod.

"Sir?" She asked, confused.

"Never get in a fight unless you believe that you can win. The exception to that is when your sensei tells you to," He tossed the stick to one of the boys and got in a fighting position. Minako did the same. 

_'I hope to the goddess that I have a little knowledge on hand to hand,' _Minako thought to herself. Wufei started to go after her slowly, and Minako blocked everything. He gradually pressed on, getting harder for her. Ten minutes later she got tired of being on defense and started to go after him on her own. He blocked all of her moves and then tripped her, causing her to fall on the ground. She was sweating lightly. He held his hand out to her. She took it and pulled herself up.

"Good," He said with a nod. "It appears that Miss Aino is one of the top in this class, pair up," He held out his hand and the boy tossed him the stick again. The boys paired up while Minako walked along the wall to cool her muscles a bit. She walked over to a smiling boy with brown hair and blue eyes that was standing by himself while Wufei gave out instructions. He came up behind people and tapped them with the stick when they did something wrong. He came over by Mina to tap the inside of her knee's constantly. She didn't keep them spread far enough apart. They were all glad when it was over. Derek and Mel came over to her.

"Man, I've never seen Wufei look so satisfied with a student," Mel said with a smile.

"Satisfied?" Minako asked with a snort.

"When you get used to him, you'll notice the differences in his personality," Derek told her.

"Don't we have free time now?" Minako asked.

"That would be an affirmative," Derek said with a yawn.

"I need a shower," She said, smelling the front of her shirt.

"Can I join?" asked a voice from behind them. They turned and found Vince and George.

"No you may not," Minako said primly.

"Darn, my bad luck," Vince said with a laugh.

"I know," Minako agreed. 

  


At 11am class two started. Politics with Relena for herself and the other first years. She had decided to change for this class after tossing her clothes in the laundry hamper. She was wearing an orange halter top with beadwork on the hem and a white skirt that fell to right above her knee's and had little yellow and peach flowers on it. Her hair was down with the bow holding some out of her face. There was a white jean jacket over everything, but she put it over the back of her seat when she sat down in the front row.

"Hello Minako," Relena said with a smile.

"Hi Relena," Minako answered. Derek and Mel were sitting to either side of her. Relena smiled at all of them. 

"I decided to give you a break today from my constant harping on how peace is always better than war," Relena started. She was standing in front of them in a pale pink skirt suit with her hair in a bun on the back of her head. "Instead I have decided to tell you about a legend that I like. It's the legend of the Sailor Scouts. Has anyone heard of it?" she asked. Minako raised her hand.

"Only one?" Relena asked, "I guess it's a good thing that I'm going to tell you all. It started over a millennia ago," (damia - "You all know the story, so I'll skip to the end, about a half later,")

"Do any of you have any questions?" Relena asked. Derek raised his had, and Relena nodded to him.

"Why was Sailor Venus the only one without a boyfriend?" He asked. Relena looked at Minako.

"I don't know, do you?" She asked. Minako nodded her head, a sad look in her eyes.

"Sailor V was cursed by a boy that she spurned while she lived in England, before she joined up with the other scouts in Japan. He cursed her so that no one from her dimension would ever fall in love with her," Minako said with a grin.

"That's so sad," Relena said. Minako shrugged. Another boy raised his hand.

"How come Jupiter's parents weren't ever mentioned?" He asked. Relena shrugged and looked over at Minako to see if she knew.

"Jupiter was an orphan," She said with a smile.

"It seems that we have an expert on our hands," Relena said with a smile. "Minako why don't you answer their questions,"

"How come Uranus and Neptune were always together?" Some called.

"They were Lesbian lovers," Minako said with a grin.

"Why wasn't Mercury as strong as the others?"

"She was as strong, she just didn't believe in herself. She preferred to find answers with the Mercury Computer," she thought of the little blue haired genius with a smile.

"How do you know so much about the legend?" Mel asked.

"I did a report on it. My teachers made me research it to the point that it was almost like I lived it," She said with a strange smile.

"If you could be any of the scouts, who would you be?" Another boy called.

"Venus," She answered immediately.

"Not ever fall in love?" Relena asked. Minako shrugged.

"What's the point? It only brings pain and heartbreak in the end," She answered, "I'd rather have that than have what the other girls did," She added with a shrug.

"And what did the other girls have?" Relena asked.

"Constant heartache, strings of endless dates," She answered with a shrug.

"What about the Pluto person?" Jon asked. Jon was a tall boy with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She turned and looked at him.

"I would want to be Pluto the least of all. She stayed at the Gates of Time for Millennia without human contact and didn't age because when you are there, time doesn't affect you. She watched as people grew old and died, as wars happened, as people she had watched from birth died. I wouldn't want to be Sailor Pluto," She shook her head.

"Did you ever find pictures of the sailors," Another boy asked.

"I found one artists renditions, and I found descriptions that told about them," She said with a half smile.

"And?" he prompted.

"Sailor Mercury was the smallest of the senshi. She had short blue hair and the same color blue eyes. Sailor Venus looked like a model, but she liked sports. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes. Sailor Moon had floor length silver-blonde hair and midnight blue eyes with silver flecks. She was dainty and petite. Sailor Mars was a priestess. She had dark violet eyes and dark hair with violet highlights that hung past her waist. Sailor Jupiter was the fighter. She was tied as the second tallest scout, and was willow thin. She had curly auburn hair to mid-back, and emerald green eyes. Sailor Saturn was tall and thin, just like Venus. She had dark purple hair that hung to her chin and darker violet eyes. Sailor Uranus was tied for second as the tallest scout and she had extremely short sandy blonde hair and teal blue eyes. Sailor Neptune was the personification of feminine. She had wavy aqua hair that fell a little past her shoulders, and aqua colored eyes. Sailor Pluto was the mysterious one. She had long dark green hair that came to her ankles, and maroon eyes. She was the tallest," She smiled at them.

"Pluto sounds freaky, but the rest sound hot," one boy commented.

"If Uranus and Mars had heard you say that, they would be out for blood," She said with a smile, "Come to think of it, Saturn would as well for you calling Pluto freaky," 

"Class is over, go eat lunch. Miss Aino could you please stay a moment," Relena announced. Minako smiled reassuringly to Mel and Derek, who told her that they'd be outside waiting. 

"What did you need Instructor Peacecraft?" Minako asked after everyone had left.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm very impressed with your knowledge of the Moon Kingdom lore. You know more than a lot of people out there that I've heard give lectures on the subject. You made them out to be real people," Relena told the other girl.

"That's because that is what they were," Minako said with a shrug.

"Are you one of those people that believe that they were really here at one time?" Relena asked.

"Yes I am," Minako said with a nod. Relena smiled.

"Me to, Quatre, Trowa and Duo are all in the same boat as you and I in that thought," She said with a smile, "Heero and Wufei don't have imagination's," 

"That fits their persona," The younger girl answered with a shrug. 

"Well, we are going on a trip to the Sanq Art Museum this Sunday. Not everyone is required to go, but they have a fantastic room full of art based on the sailor scouts. You should sign up for the trip. It will be fun," Relena told her.

"Where is the sheet?" Minako asked with a smile.

"My office. If you would like to go, just put your name on a paper and I'll add it to the list when I go back to my room," Relena told her. Minako grabbed a paper and pen and put down her name and what dorm she was in before handing the paper to Relena. 

"Thanks Minako, I'm glad that there will be another female there. So far it's only twenty of the boys as well as Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei. Now head off to lunch before the boys pee there pants," Relena waved Minako out the door and the younger girl was all to happy to comply.

"What did she need?" Mel asked curiously.

"She wanted me to sign up for the trip to the museum," Minako said with a smile.

"Sounds like fun. I've been signed for the last week," Derek said with a smile.

"That's nice, I'm hungry," Minako complained. She started to swiftly walk to the cafeteria. She went in and sat at the table that the group had been using for the past few days.

"Well aren't we looking feminine," Duo commented with a grin. He plopped into a chair beside her.

"In your old age have you managed to forget that females occasionally act like the softer sex?" Minako asked. 

"Ouch, that hurt," Duo said with a pout.

"That I called you old?" Minako asked.

"No, that you took me seriously," Duo answered with a shrug.

"I didn't take you seriously, you took me seriously," Minako told him with a grin.

"I am going to go up to the teachers table now. at least I don't feel dumb when I eat with them," Duo said with a mock offended look.

"No, you ignore them all and pretend to know what you're talking about," Minako said with a shrug.

"Is that an invite to stay?" Duo asked with a smile.

"I wouldn't dream of taking you away from all of your friends," Minako said in mock sincerity. 

"Yes you would," Derek said with a smile.

"True," Minako agreed.

"In that case I'm getting a sandwich or two," Duo said with a smile. He sauntered over to the food line and grabbed a tray. He piled at least one of everything that was out, onto his plate. He came over and sat down again.

"Our turn," Derek grabbed Minako's hand and they went off in search of food. Not that it was hard to find considering that there was a long line of it not to far away from where they were sitting.

Minako started to pile things on her plate as she went down. Most of it was healthy. She only grabbed one thing of green jello unlike all of the other boys. They took at least four. It was amusing really. They sat back down and noted that everyone else was already there.

"They must make enough jello to fill a pool," Minako commented.

"They probably do. It's all gone by the end of lunch though. It's strange," Duo answered.

"I wonder how much jello they have to make daily?" Derek wondered aloud.

"Gallons at least," Vince said with a nod.

"That's an almost frightening thought. Do you realize that they make enough jello for everyone in this room to drown in every day?" Minako asked.

"It's a very scary thought," Trent agreed. 

"All of you are going on the trip to the museum?" Minako asked.

"What trip?" Duo asked.

"The one that Relena is pushing to go to the Sanq Art Museum. She wants us all to see the section devoted to the Moon Kingdom legend," Derek answered.

"Sounds interesting," Duo said with a shrug.

"I thought so," Minako said with a smile.

"I'm glad. I'm going I'll need some eye candy," George agreed.

"Yeah, but that's only if your able to see out of two swollen eyes," Minako told him with a smile.

"That's a nice thought," Max said with a smile. He was busy eating a sub sandwich.

"Hey, you let Derek and Trent get away with comments like those," George said in a hurt voice.

"You're right. I take back what I said, it would only be one eye," Minako told him with a sweet smile.

"Gee, I'm feeling the love here," George growled.

"And anyway, Minako can't help but allow us to use her as eye candy. She doesn't know where the camera's that we placed in her bathroom are," Trent said with a large smile.

"It was in the shower head and has been dismantled since before I took the shower this morning. When you wake up in the morning you should probably take a quick look around for your own safety," She informed him. She took a bite of a sandwich as Duo snorted sprite out of his nose.

"If I actually believed that someone had actually planted some sort of bug in your room I would be forced to take some sort of action against them," He said with a laugh.

"Then I guess it's a good thing no ones made that dumb of a mistake yet. If I had actually found some sort of bug in my room I would have found out who put it in there and already have taken care of it in my own way, which would include a very painful process which would not allow hope of procreation," Minako told them calmly.

"That was frightening," Mel commented. The boys all stopped and stared at her as she continued to eat.

"Very," agreed Donny. 

"Then I don't suggest any of you actually do it," Minako said with a shrug.

"My back is killing me," Greg complained.

"What did you do to it?" Minako asked.

"I just got out of stealth with Trowa. Man he's purposefully trying to kill me," The boy complained.

"Trowa's to nice for that, what did he do?" Duo asked.

"He started out by blindfolding half of us and putting us on the lawn for warm ups. The half that wasn't blindfolded had to get past the half that was," He said.

"What does that mean?" Minako asked.

"That means that we have to move silently between a group of boys being purposefully silent and trying to hear any noises that you might make so that they can grab you. You have to bend out of the way of their arms and slide through eleven inch gaps and the like," George explained.

"That sounds fun to me," Minako said with a shrug.

"That's a warm up for us second years and a game for the thirds. For you guys it's an exercise," George told her.

"After that he moved us to the woods and set up half the people in specific trees and had traps set up all over the place. He made me go through the entire thing eight times," Greg told them.

"Why?" Max asked.

"because he's the only one that can do it without setting off anything," Donny answered with a smile.

"Man, that's a frightening concept," Derek said with a shudder.

"It's actually kind of cool to watch," Vince commented, "He goes through and it's like he's got a sixth sense for traps and alarms and stuff. Not to mention that he moves like a freaking cat," 

"This cat feels like it lost eight of it's lives in one afternoon," Greg complained.

"Would you like me to walk on your back?" Minako asked.

"Do you know how to do it?" Trent asked.

"Would I offer if I didn't?" Minako asked, making a face. "I learned how to do that when I was fourteen. It's not hard after you get the hang of it," She smiled.

"That would be fantastic," Greg said with a smile.

"Where would be the bast place to do it?" Minako asked.

"The living room?" asked Vince with a thoughtful look.

"Sounds good to me," Duo agreed.

"Yippee," Greg said with a contented sigh.

"I'm done," Minako said with a smile. She walked her tray over and rinsed it.

"Man, I've got dinner detail today," Donny complained.

"Oh be quiet, I have to go talk to some sort of artist with Relena and Quatre. He wants to stay at the school for a couple of weeks. He says that it's perfect for him to get idea's or something like that," Duo said with a shrug.

"That does sound interesting. What's his name?" Minako asked.

"Ken Smith," Duo answered automatically.

"Never heard of him," Minako said with a shrug.

"His paintings are well known in certain circles, but no one else really pays much attention. I believe he has a few paintings in the Sanq Art Museum," Trent commented.

"I'll look for his work this weekend," Minako said with a shrug.

"I'm almost tempted to go on the trip just so I can see his work," Duo said with a smile.

"Duo, you are a twenty-one year old male. You have better things to do with your time. Like cause trouble with me like your supposed to," Max told him.

"Come to the Museum with us," Minako told Max with a sweet smile.

"I suppose it could be done," He said with a shrug.

"Just go tell Relena," Vince told him.

"Looks like all of us are going, I'll let her know Greg and I are as well," Donny told them.

"Yay, a group effort," Derek said in mock excitement.

"Let's go to the living room," Greg said. He dumped his tray and the rest of the group followed his example. They wandered to the living room and noted that it was empty at the moment.

"We still have an hour and a half until class three. People will come in," Trent said with a shrug. 

"Lovely," Minako said with a smile.

"Where do you want me?" Greg asked.

"Face down on the floor," She commanded.

"Kinky," Commented Duo lasciviously. 

"Shut up," Minako told him. Greg lay down on the floor with a groan. He was wearing his uniform.

"After I walk on it you can have a back rub," Minako told him. She stepped carefully onto his back and kept her feet flat.

"Dude, you're as light as a flipping feather, and I've seen how much you eat," Greg exclaimed.

"You might want to keep still if you don't want to get hurt," Minako told him. She walked carefully along his back and down his legs. She wiggled her feet every now and then as well. Duo flipped the tv on and they watched music video's. They also made fun of them.

"That looks interesting," commented a voice from the doorway. They all turned to see a couple of guys. 

"Looks can be deceiving," Duo commented with a shrug.

"It looks to me like she's walking on Little's back," one of the boys commented. He had dark red hair and brown eyes.

"And some things are exactly as they look Brett," Trent told him. They sat down on the couch and started to watch the tube with the other boys. Minako climbed off Greg's back a few minutes later. 

"Anyone else?" She asked.

"Me," three of them hopped up from where they were.

"You but only because I have no idea who you are," Minako told one of them. He had shaggy dirty blonde hair and black eyes.

"I'm Chip Hughley," He told her with a grin. He was tall, at least three inches over six feet. He was wearing baggy skater shorts and a black wife beater. He lay down on the ground and she climbed up.

"Nice to meet you chip, tell me if I break you do to excessive weight," She told him with a slight laugh.

"You're tiny, how much do you weigh?" He asked in surprise.

"I dunno, less than 120 I believe," She answered with a shrug.

"If anyone complains of your weight, they need to work out a bit more," Trent called from the couch.

"Does this mean I'm small?" She asked.

"No, It means your tiny. You're almost a foot shorter than Trowa, and you're tied for the fourth shortest person in the school. You're a miniature," Duo answered.

"I'm not sure if that's offensive or not," She told him drily.

"Face it, you're small," Derek told her.

"How annoying," She said sigh. She finished with Chip and did five others. When she was done she had just enough time to go and change before going to catch up with Derek and Mel on their way to Heero's class on the front lawns. They walked out and lined up on a chalked line on the grass. 

"Hello Instructor Heero," Derek said Cheerily. 

"Hn," Heero grunted. He had a card table set up and there were five common hand guns on it. There were five targets set up about fifty feet away.

"One shot each, count off," Heero commanded. Everyone started to count off in five's and then they stood behind each target. Minako was in the back of the fifth row and waiting a little nervously. She had never shot a gun before. The boy in front of her handed her the gun. Everyone so far had hit the bulls-eye or somewhere extremely close by it. Minako pointed ad squeezed the trigger. She missed. 

"Aino," Heero shouted.

"Yes Instructor Heero?" She asked.

"Have you ever shot a gun before?" He asked. She shook her head no and gave him a guilty look.

"I'll get a third year to help you," He told her with a nod. He called over another student and told him to go get someone from the kitchens. The boy took off and Heero sighed.

"Sorry sir," Minako told him quietly.

"Can you use any weapons?" He asked. She nodded once.

"Both bows, knives, stars, sais, fans, whips, darts, retractable quarter staff, chords, numchucks, katana, brass knuckles, circle blade, claws, and scythe off the top of my head," She answered. He looked at her with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Good to know that you're not completely helpless," He answered. 

"I'm not helpless," She told him with a narrowed gaze. He nodded slightly with an appraising look in his eyes. The boy he had sent off came back. With him was a short, stocky brunette with a military hair cut. He had dark green eyes when he came close enough for her to see.

"Gary I need you to teach her to shoot," Heero told the boy.

"Yes sir," Gary nodded. He took the gun and motioned Minako to follow him with his head.

"I'm really sorry," She told him. Her hair was hanging out the back of her hat and was in a braid again. Her shirt was tucked into her pants and her shoes were untied.

"Have you ever shot a gun before?" Gary asked her.

"Before three minutes ago?" Minako asked.

"I'll take that as a no," Gary said with a nod and a sigh.

"Give me any other type of weapon and I'll blow your socks off, but guns and things like that just don't fit me. I try to stay away form them as much as possible. I've always found a way around the use of them before. Now I don't think that's going to be possible," Minako explained.

"Heero and I will be teaching you and more than likely there will be others as well. You only have this class two days a week. It wont be to bad," Gary told her.

"I don't even know what a safety is," She moaned. She raised an eyebrow at her and pointed to a little button on the side.

"On this particular weapon, this button is the safety. It's your first day, I'll start with the basics and we'll move on form there. When you get to Freddy's class you learn Espionage. That's on thursday," He told her.

"Oh god, more guns?" She moaned.

"Not unless you like them," He told her with a lop sided grin.

"Then what?" She asked.

"She teaches all sorts of things. Her favorite thing is to make gadgets to use against other people. She'll teach you how to hide weapons all over your person so that no one will find them, and she'll show you how to make innocent things into dangerous things. It's fun," He told her with a smile.

"You're in Heero's bunk aren't you?" She accused.

"How'd you guess," He asked with a knowing grin. 

"You're gaining to much pleasure from torturing me," She informed him.

"Trust me, this is better than you might think," He told her with a serious look.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean that Instructor Wufei has a free period right now and is fairly proficient in the art of using a gun. Not to mention he has a special place in his heart for girls," He told her with a laugh.

"Yeah, it's that cold empty black hole in the middle," She retorted. He laughed harder.

"You know, that's not really true, but it sometimes seems like it," He agreed.

"Thanks, you're making me feel a whole lot better about myself," She told him with a scowl. Class ended and Heero came over.

"Aino," He called.

"Yes Instructor Heero?" She asked.

"Next time say something if you don't understand," He told her.

"Yes sir," she said with a nod.

"That is all," He turned and started to methodically clean the weapons. Gary helped him. Minako groaned and trudged off to her room to shower and change. She walked out to the kitchen after she was done and walked in. She was now wearing a pair of yellow smiley face boxers and a white tank top.

"I don't suppose that you have food for a weary victim of Heero abuse," She asked the two people that were busy moving pots onto tables around the room. One was tall with jet lack hair and baby blue eyes. He was wearing a white chef uniform and had a wooden spoon tucked into one of his pockets. The woman had long brown hair tied into a ponytail and caught into a net and she looked to be a little above Wufei's height. Her eyes were a medium blue and she to was in the uniform. They laughed.

"You must be the new girl," The woman said with a smile.

"Gee, I wonder how you guessed that," Minako said with a blank look on her face. The two laughed again.

"We seem to get a lot of new female exchange students this time of year," The man agreed.

"I'm Minako Aino," She told the two.

"I'm Sam Young, and this is my husband and much better half, John," She told her with a smile. 

"Food?" She asked plaintively.

"We have fruit in the fridge marked fruit, that you are allowed to take at any time of the day or night, granted, you aren't allowed out at night so don't get caught," John told her.

"If you get really hungry, you ask us and we might make you a sandwich," Sam added.

"Sounds good to me," She told them. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out two apples and a couple oranges. She sliced the apples with a knife that John offered her, and then peeled the oranges. 

"You eat like Duo," Sam commented in surprise.

"You know, you're not the first person to tell me that since I've been here. The sad thing is that my friend Usagi is smaller than me and eats like four times as much," Minako said with a shrug.

"That's a lot of food," John said with a nod.

"No kidding, Lita, our resident chef over there, She'd multiply the recipes by ten just to feed Usa and me and Haruka," Minako told them with a laugh.

"That's an almost frightening thought," Sam said with a nod. Minako finished in a few minutes, thanked them, and left. She wandered over to the music room and sat down. There was a well kept flute in a glass cabinet on one side and an equally cared for Violin in a cabinet next to it. There were multiple other instruments around the room that were kept care of, but not to the extent of those two. 

She sat down on the piano bench and thought about Ami's Lyre, and Michiru's violin, and Haruka's piano. They always played so beautifully. She noted a floor harp to one side and walked over to it. She sat on the stool beside it and lightly strummed her fingers over it. She was rather surprised when chord drills and things of that sort flew through her head. She plucked out a few notes softly. It sounded beautiful. She started to play an upbeat song from the silver millennium and closed her eyes as she let herself go to the music. She stopped when she heard a light sound behind her. She turned quickly and found Trowa standing there.

"I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't be in here," She stood as if to go, but he held up a hand.

"The music room is open to anyone that would like to be here. The instruments are for everyone's use. Save those in the cabinets," He told her.

"That sounds great to me. Would you like me to go so you can be here on your own?" She asked. He shook his head no and walked over to the first cabinet. He took down the flute and whistled a few notes before looking at her again.

"Would you like to try a duet?" He asked. She smiled and nodded. He reached over to a file cabinet and opened a drawer. He pulled out a few sheets and handed her one. They looked them over and started to play. Minako let her fingers dance across the wires and sighed blissfully when it ended.

"That was beautiful," A soft voice said from the door. They turned to see Quatre standing there with a smile on his face. Minako blushed lightly.

"Thank you," She told him.

"Don't thank me, you deserved it. I haven't heard that piece for a very long time. You did the harp justice," He told her. She blushed lightly.

"I haven't played for a long time. Would you mind terribly if I came in to practice once in a while?" She asked them both.

"Not at all, in fact I insist that you do. Learning an instrument is a great anger management tool as well as a useful way to spend your time," Quatre said approvingly.

"In that case I'll come in more often," Minako said with a smile.

"I came to tell you that dinner was going to start in fifteen minutes," Quatre told them both.

"Thanks," Minako handed her music to Trowa, straightened all the music, and scampered out of the room.

"There's something about her," Trowa said with a slightly curious look in his eyes. Quatre moved closer to him and nodded.

"There is, I want to know more about her," Quatre agreed.

"It's almost as if there is something there that no one can see," Trowa agreed.

"It almost sounds like someone has a crush," Quatre said with a soft chuckle. Trowa raised his eye brows and leaned down to kiss the shorter man on the lips.

"Not when I've already found my soul mate," Trowa told him with a slight smile. Quatre grinned and walked out of the room. 

  


(**Solatina** - "DAMNIT DAMIA, I WANTED TROWA," ** Damia** - "That's nice, so did Quatre," **Wren** - "I think it's sweet," **Solatina** - "I think it's evil and mean and cruel and rotten and-" **Damia** - "We get the picture, you can live with it,")

  


Minako walked into the cafeteria smiling. Derek and Vince whistled. She just raised both her eyebrows, looked them both up and down, and shook her head in the negative. They responded by holding there hands over their hearts and pretending to cry on each others shoulders.

"Cute guys," She told them, sitting down.

"We thought so," Trent agreed.

"I thought it was rather annoying myself," George said with a grin.

"Why thank you George, I knew there was a nice guy around here somewhere," Minako said with a smile. George started to preen and Greg snorted.

"Suck up," He told the other boy.

"You're just figuring this out?" Mel asked with a laugh.

"I've been in denial," Greg answered. Minako laughed at their antics.

"Hey, where are Donny and Max?" She asked, just noticing that they weren't at the table.

"They'll be a little late," Vince said with a grin.

"And I'll find out later, right?" Minako asked with a grin of her own.

"That would be an affirmative," Derek told her with a salute. Just then a group of people came out of the kitchens with baskets of bread and large pots of stew.

"Food!" Minako exclaimed happily. She slouched as hearts came into her eyes.

"You would think we starved the students if you saw only Minako and Duo," Relena's voice came from behind her. Minako turned and smiled. Only to hide a gasp of surprise. Standing next to Relena was Kunzite, her love from the silver millennium and enemy from the Sailor Wars. She swallowed her feelings and smiled at them both.

"Hey Relena, what's up," Derek said with a smile.

"Well, some of the other teachers and I have been showing around Mr. Smith here. He's going to be using the grounds as his muse," She told them with a smile, "Everyone, meet one of the leading Moon Kingdom artists, Mr. Ken Smith. Ken, meet Derek, Vince, Trent, Mel, George, Greg, and Minako," She told them. Ken smiled at them all.

"Pleased to meet you all," He told them. He didn't look that old, only about twenty or so. 

"So Mr. Smith," Minako started.

"I would prefer everyone to call me Ken," He told her with a smile.

"Alright Ken, why did you choose this school?" Minako asked.

"I don't know, something pulled me here, like fate," He told her with a smile.

"Corny, but interesting," Mel said with a shrug. The man laughed.

"Yeah, but that's what happens when you're an artist," He told them with a shrug.

"Do you fight?" Minako asked. Ken got a vague look on his face, almost as if he was thinking about something long ago.

"I used to, a long time ago," He said with a nod. 

"I see you all have met Ken here," Duo said, walking up.

"I'm hungry," Minako whined, looking at the food that was sitting not to far away.

"FOOD!" Duo shouted, he ran for the teachers table and sat down. The rest of them laughed.

"Would you like to eat with us Ken?" Trent asked.

"That would be fantastic, with Miss Relena's permission of course," He turned to the girl.

"You're not a student, you may eat where you like," She told him with a smile. She walked up to the table and sat next to Heero. He sat down across from Minako, who jumped up and ran for the stew. The rest of the boys followed at a more leisurely pace. Minako plopped herself back down at the table and started to eat. She stopped to smile at the guys as they came back and noticed that Donny and Max were with them.

"Well, I was almost expecting you to miss dinner," Minako told them with a grin.

"Do you honestly think that we would pass sustenance over for duty? No, we don't work like that," Donny told her with a nod.

"That didn't make any sense whatsoever," Minako said with a laugh.

"It's not supposed to," Max said with a nod.

"Have we met before somewhere Miss Aino?" Ken asked them with a slight crease of thought on his forehead. Minako almost smiled at him but kept her face blank.

"Not that I know of," Minako said with a shrug.

"I've seen you somewhere," Ken told her with a thoughtful look. She raised her eyebrows.

"Nowhere in this world," She said with a grin. He looked at her with a slight frown.

"Maybe she was in one of your better dreams," Derek suggested with a grin.

"Or in one of your w-," Vince was cut off as his brothers hand flew across his mouth.

"We don't want to have to explain why Minako killed you in front of a jury. It would be to embarrassing," Trent told the younger boy. 

"I know where I've seen you now," Ken exclaimed. Minako just raised both her eyebrows and took a sip of her soda.

"Where?" Mel asked.

"She looks like an exact replica of who my colleagues and I chose for Sailor Venus," He said with a smile. Minako spit her soda out onto the table and the guys all laughed. She started to laugh when she noticed that she had also spit it on Vince, who now sat next to her.

"I guess that shows you not to think disgusting things," She told him.

"What's so funny about Minako being Sailor Venus?" Ken asked.

"Please, that stopped a long time ago," Minako said with another laugh.

"You still look like her," Ken replied.

"Oh come on, Me? Sailor Venus? Princess of Venus? Goddess of Love? Leader of the inner Senshi? I don't think so," Minako laughed again.

"Give one good reason why?" Ken asked. The rest of the boys stopped laughing so as to listen to the two argue.

"She was sweet and innocent," Minako answered.

"Everyone grows up at some point in there life," Ken countered.

"She was strong willed," Minako said with a shrug.

"So are you," Derek told her with a smile. She glared at him.

"Don't help in with his delusions," She turned back to Ken, "She was graceful," 

"So are you. Fluid in your movements, steady in your walk, never flailing around," Trent told her with a shrug.

"You can butt out as well," Minako told him with a frown.

"I'm still waiting for the reason," Ken told her with a smile.

"The Princess of Venus is one of the most beautiful people in the universe, therefore I cannot be her," Minako shrugged. The boys started to argue with her and she could barely hear herself think. She held up one hand to silence them and smiled.

"If you would please take it one at a time," She said.

"Dude, you are completely hot," Mel told her. she laughed and shook her head. She stood up and walked to her room after making a quick stop to take care of her tray.

Minako sat on her orange blow up chair and put her head in her hands. She took a deep breath and looked at the pictures that she had put up around the room. She looked at the one of her and Makoto practically drooling over some guy that wasn't in the picture and Rei giving them a scathing look. She smiled lightly. 

She looked over at her bed and noticed that she had gotten a letter. she walked over and picked it up. The return address was a PO box and Setsuna's name was above it. She smiled and opened it.

Minako - 

I know that seeing him will come as a shock to you, but that is the way that fate has come about. They never really died. Instead their minds were cleansed and they were given new identities so that they could live normal lives away form the insanity of our dimension. Please do not ask why I never told you before. It had not occurred to me that any of you would find out. This has changed the timelines and I am no longer sure of the outcomes for you. None are bad, but not all are good.

The girls will be sending you letters as well from now on, and I will keep you updated. I am sorry that you are so put out. Do not be so harsh on yourself. You are beautiful, graceful, and sweet. None of us are innocent any longer, but that is to be expected. Good luck with Kunzite, and remember that as the Goddess of Love you are required to follow your heart, not your head.

All my Hope

Setsuna

  


Minako shook her head and refolded the letter. She walked to her dresser and put it in the back of one of the drawers. She sighed and walked to the closet. She pulled out a pair of black yoga pants and a cross backed orange work out shirt. She pulled everything on and walked to the gym. She was happy to note that it was empty and put a hand in the pocket of her pants as a decoy for pulling a CD from her SS pocket. She put the rock music in the radio that was sitting out and let the rock blare over the thing. She walked over to one of the punching bags and let a high kick fly out. She continued without stop for almost half an hour. 

She stopped and glared at the bag, only to do a roundhouse and rattle the chains enough that some of the plaster on the ceiling cracked. She glared at it as well. She walked over to the middle of the mats and did a quick cartwheel. She then incorporated a punch into the end of that cart wheel. After that she started mixing her gymnastics with her martial arts and did that for about twenty minutes. At that point she stopped and sat down. Thoughts were running through her head, thoughts and memories that she wanted stopped.

'_Does he remember me? How we met? Do the others remember the girls? Why weren't they allowed to stay? What if we fall in love again? What if my curse doesn't allow him him to fall in love with me? What if the curse doesn't work in this dimension?_' She thought back to a time when when she and Kunzite were trying to find their royal charges and bring them back to their respective homes


	5. Short and Sweet

  


Damia - "I love this story, but I haven't had any idea's for ANY of my stories in quite some time. You know how I ask for peoples Idea's? I am not going to sit and yell at you for giving them to me. If I ask, then I want it. In this case I need it. So please give me a few ideas, alright?"


	6. Memories best left unspoken

Memories best left unspoken

Flashback

Minako looked around her, hoping that no one would notice her. She wasn't quite dressed as the average human while in her lady's dress. It was a halter necked, low backed, floor length confection of venetian silk. She peeked around a tree. She knew the princes gardens well. She was always having to chase Serenity down here and get her away from the prince. She saw something behind a group of rose bushes and smiled. She walked over and stood to the side.

"Serenity Hime," She called softly as she walked around the side, expecting to see Serenity and Endymion in an embrace. They claimed to be in love. They looked to be in love. To her, they were in love. Queen Selenity didn't see it that way, hence the job of fetching Serenity. Much to her surprise though, it wasn't Serenity and Endymion that she found. It was someone else.

"You aren't allowed here," He told her with a frown. She thought to herself how handsome he was, and then shoved the thought aside at the tone he had used.

"It is not my wish to be here," She told him with a frown.

"Then leave," He ordered.

"Who are you to be ordering me to leave?" She asked with a deeper frown.

"If you do not know that then you are not from around here," He told her with raised eyebrows.

"Yes I am," She answered immediately. He gave her a feral smile.

"No, you're on the same mission as I," He told her.

"Am I? What makes you think that you know what I am doing here?" She asked him.

"You are looking for the Moon Princess, just as I am looking for the Earth Prince. Trying to keep him from the gardens is getting harder by the day," He told her.

"I am Princess Devotion of Venus," She told him with a slight curtsey.

"I had thought something along those lines," He told her with a nod. He turned and started to walk in another direction.

"Excuse me, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" She asked.

"I am Kunzite, General to his lordship," Kunzite called over his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" She asked, annoyed.

"To find the two doves," He answered. She pulled her skirts up to keep up with the other person.

"Would you mind terribly slowing down?" She asked.

"I'm too busy right now," He answered. She growled in frustration and sped up, unfortunately he had longer legs.

"You are being extremely rude sir," The princess huffed.

"I only have to baby-sit the prince, I have no orders to do so for whiny princesses from other planets," He retorted.

"I am not whiny," She exclaimed angrily. He stopped and looked back at her for a moment.

"Whatever you say princess," He answered with a shrug. He walked quickly away again. Five minutes later the two guardians found the couple cuddling together on a bench under a willow tree.

"Princess," Minako said with a quick curtsey. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the man beside her beat her to it.

"Endymion, your father is looking for you," He told the other man. Devotion glared at him.

"Princess your mother is searching for you and the girls are on the Moon trying to cover for you. You need to come quickly," She told the girl. The two lovers looked at each other and stood together.

"Fine," Endymion agreed with a frown.

"Princess, you might want to find another companion. This one isn't up to it," Kunzite commented to Serenity.

"Prince, If your other generals are anything like this uncouth barbarian, you might want to give them a lesson in manners," Devotion told Endymion. She put her hand over Serenity's and teleported them both up into the princess's bathroom.

Two weeks later it was Devotion's turn again. This time she was getting the princess because Venus had been attacked from an unknown party and She was supposed to be giving Serenity the updates as her mother gave Queen Selenity her own. She was dressed as Sailor Venus, and she had multiple cuts and bruises forming all over. Her uniform was ripped in a few places and she had a headache the size of Saturn's moons due to a gash on her temple that was still bleeding, staining the white of her fuku red.

Devotion teleported down to the Earth palace gardens thoroughly annoyed and stressed out. All she wanted was to go home and soak in a hot tub. She leaned her forehead against a tree as a large wave of pain hit her.

"And again we are sent on the same mission," A voice said in wry amusement from behind her. She took a deep shaky breath and kept her face turned toward the tree.

"Leave me in peace. I am not in the mood to argue with you over meaningless things," She told him, pictures of her dead people flashing through her mind.

"If you want to find them you should probably come with me. That is, if you can keep up as Sailor Venus," He said condescendingly. She pushed herself away from the tree as she let out some of her anger.

"You listen to me you egocentric barbarian, I am not in the mood to bandy words, nor am I in the mood to listen to you treat me like a simple female who has no job in life but to make babies and oversee the house," She turned to face him, "I am the future Queen of Venus and leader of the Inner Scouts. As such I demand a certain amount of respect from simple country bumpkins such as yourself," She glared at him as she wobbled on her feet slightly.

"Are you alright?" He asked, instantly at her side. She shoved him away from her and started in the direction of a giggle that she heard. She stopped about ten feet away and swayed a little. She felt a hand behind her back and turned to reprimand Kunzite, when he swung her up into his arms. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I don't feel good," She complained.

"You don't look good either," He commented.

"You are still being rude and obnoxious, what did I ever do to you? Nothing," She complained loudly.

"I could drop you," He told her lightly.

"I didn't ask to be picked up," She growled.

"You couldn't walk," He answered.

"Yes I could, but the garden was moving and it made me dizzy," She told him with a sniff.

"Why didn't you go see a healer before you came down here?" He asked.

"Because I'm fine. It is my duty to report to the princess before all else,"She told him. Kunzite walked into a small circle of roses with Venus in his arms to find Endymion and Serenity locked in a passionate embrace.

"Break it up," Venus shouted. The two broke apart and looked to the other two in surprise.

"Devotion, what happened?" Serenity cried.

"There was an attack on Venus. The troops and I took care of it, but my mother and I were supposed to give reports to you and your mother. I couldn't find you at the palace and knew you had to be down here. I don't think that I should have teleported all over the place though, it gave me a headache the size of the sun," She told her princess. Devotion's head dropped back to Kunzite's shoulder and she closed her eyes.

"Devotion!?" Serenity cried.

"I'm not so sure that it would be safe for her to go anywhere right now," Kunzite commented.

"Nonsense, Serenity just needs to teleport us both to her rooms and call for a doctor. Not hard," Devotion answered, not moving her position.

"Except that she can't carry you," Endymion remarked.

"I can stand," Devotion started to struggle in Kunzite's arms and he carefully set her down. She stood up unsteadily and grabbed a hold of Serenity's arm.

"Are you sure you can stand?" Endymion asked the girl. She gave him a level glare.

"Now Serenity. If you don't want to get into trouble go, now," Devotion ordered. There was a brief flash of silver and the two were gone.

Three weeks after that Devotion was back down at the gardens yet again.

"Serenity had better have a good excuse for being down here, she's going to see him in three days at the fucking ball," Devotion muttered to herself.

"I don't know how it works up on the moon, but talking to yourself isn't considered healthy down here," a voice commented from behind her. Devotion was dressed as Sailor Minako again.

"I wasn't talking to myself," She said as she turned to glare at Kunzite.

"No, you were ranting to yourself and using expletives that aren't meant for little princesses. Where'd you hear them? The docks?" He asked with a raised brow.

"You know, this is only the third time that we've met, but I believe that I know what your game is," She told him with a small smile.

"Game?" He asked. Venus walked up to him and poked him in the center of the chest.

"You purposefully bait people to get a rise," She told him.

"Why would I do something like that?" He asked with a smile.

"Because you find it amusing," She told him.

"Well, now that you have me figured out, why don't I tell you what parts of your game that I've figured out," He told her.

"I don't play a game," She told him with a haughty look.

"Everyone has a game princess," He told her.

"That's a rather cynical standpoint," Devotion told him with a shrug.

"Ah, but you would know about cynicism," He told her with a large grin.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in surprise.

"You,"

"I don't get it,"

"You sit and let people believe all sorts of things about you, but none of them are true. You lead them along so as not to give your planet a bad name. You don't truly believe that love is out there. At least not for you. You don't believe that people can get along to the point where they unquestioningly believe everything the other one says. It's wrong and you know it. You don't believe that any of it's real. You think people created love to make themselves happy," He told her.

"How did you get that out of everything that I said?" She asked with a glare.

"You think like me, and that's what I think," He said with a shrug.

"We are nothing alike. Do not presume to know what I think," She told him with another ferocious glare.

"Then why do you get annoyed when you find Serenity and Endymion together?" He asked.

"This is a pointless conversation, we need to find the doves," She said, walking off.

"You can't always hide from the truth Devotion. Don't deny what you know to be true," She turned and stalked back to him.

"I have tons of people that love me. They all fight to dance with me at balls, they flock to take me out, and they congregate where I go. I think that proves that love exists," She told him angrily. She turned, but Kunzite grabbed her arm and turned her to face him again.

"No, none of them know you, none of them want you. They want your looks and your title. They want fame, not love. They want to use you, not love you, and you know it. That's why you're a cynic. Because you see them everyday, and you know that they truly don't give a good damn about," He told her.

"It's not fair. I'm just as good as the other girls and people love them. People just think that I'm there to look pretty and not have a mind or creativity or anything else," She cried passionately.

"Not so hard to admit the truth, is it?" He asked with a grin.

"You're a cynic for the same reason. You see it happen to Endymion every day and because your so high in power it happens to you as well," Minako told him with a harsh laugh.

"Now who's assuming they know someone else?" Kunzite asked with a glare.

"If you can I can," Devotion told him with a hard grin.

"It's fine for an uncouth barbarian. You're a pretty little princess," He told her.

"Stop describing me as a princess. It makes you just as bad as them," Minako commanded.

"Sorry princess," He said with a shrug.

"You insufferable Cretin. You're just an unloved little boy who's busy crying inside for someone to come and give him love and attention. You know what the problem is?" She asked with a scowl.

"Enlighten me?" He said angrily.

"You push everyone away from you. You act like a jerk to everyone. How is anyone supposed to come near you if you act like a dick?" She demanded in annoyance.

"How is anyone supposed to come near you if you act like a spoiled brat who's better than everyone else?" He retorted

"Throw yourself over a cliff," She growled.

"Teleport into the sun," He told her in annoyance.

"You first," She sneered. They stood there glaring at each other for a few moments before throwing themselves at each other. Venus wrapped her arms around his neck as Kunzite draped his around her waist. They broke apart at the sound of a cough and turned to find Serenity and Endymion standing and looking at them.

"I'm not so sure that it's a good thing that all of your guardians and all of my guardians are getting along like this," Serenity told him with a smile. He looked down at the woman he loved.

"I'm not so sure it's a bad thing. Now all of them know what we know," Endymion answered.

"What are you two talking about?" Devotion asked.

"You'll see in a few days," Serenity told her. She put her hand on Devotion's shoulder and teleported them to the moon.

3 days later at the ball, Devotion stood in her bedroom throwing a tantrum. The guests had all arrived and she wasn't out there dancing and being happy. Princess Tranquility of Mars and Princess Haven of Jupiter were outside her room trying to convince her to come out and join in the festivities.

"Please, it's Serenity's fifteenth birthday," Haven called.

(Damia - "Yes I know, exactly one year before the moon kingdom tragedy. I did it purposefully,")

"I don't care. It's not like anyone will really miss me," Devotion shouted through the door.

"Not true, all of the scouts will miss you as well as our families," Tranquility called back.

"You'll forgive me for not going," Devotion called back.

"Listen Devotion, we understand that you're afraid to see him," Haven started.

"Afraid!? I'm not afraid of him or of anything else. I just don't feel like being a trophy tonight," Devotion yelled angrily. She buried her head under her pillow, ignoring that she was wrinkling the beautiful dress she wore. It was a pale peach confection with a dropped waist and gathered sheer material over the low bosom and dropping over her arms. Slim peach silk ribbons held it up over her shoulders and when she stood the silk of the skirt puddled on the floor around her feet. It scandalously showed every curve on her body and had a _very_ low back. Moments later there were low voices whispering outside her door.

"Haven and I are going to the party," Tranquility called through the door. Minako didn't move until her door crashed open a few moments later. She got to her feet angrily.

"Who do you think you are?" She demanded to the platinum blonde man standing against her door frame.

"If I have to suffer, so do you," He told her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Get out of my room," She ordered. He picked up the peach opera gloves from her dressing table and tossed them to her.

"I will escort you," he told her, his eyes cold.

"You will leave my rooms," She told him. He walked close to her.

"You little liar," He said softly, a grin playing around his lips.

"Excuse me?" She asked dangerously.

"You _are_ afraid," He told her.

"What do I have to fear?" She asked haughtily.

"Everything. You fear having to put on a false mask of happiness for your best friend. You fear having to look out at a sea of faces that don't really see you. You fear losing yourself amid the false smiles. You fear me most of all," He told her softly, pulling her up against him.

"You fear the same things, me most of all," She retorted angrily.

"That is true. We are much the same," He told her. She wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled his face down to hers.

"Then prove you wont hurt me," She said softly before pressing her lips to his in a dangerous kiss. He pushed her away.

"We will only hurt each other. We are _too_ alike. You should see that, you're smart enough," He told her. She slapped him soundly across the face.

"You are the only thing that is real around this diamond palace. Do you see these?" She pointed at the multitude of diamonds dripping from her neck on a delicately intricate collar. "They aren't real beauty. They are iron shackles holding me to something I don't want," She shouted at him. He grabbed her roughly and kissed her again.

"You and I aren't meant to be anything but cold friends. Admit it to yourself and it will go easier," He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room to the ball. They danced only one dance together, but their eyes rarely lost each other. The other inner scouts had the same partners the entire night. Minako was given compliments left and right and smiled sweetly at the men and women giving them. By the end of the night her cheeks hurt from holding up the smile and she was ready to attack the next person to ask her to dance.

"I think it's safe for us to leave now," A voice murmured in her ear.

"Right," Minako turned and walked out of the ball room, down to halls, and into her own room, kunzite behind her. She sat in front of her vanity and pulled off the diamond rings and earrings and bracelet. She reached her hands up to take off the necklace, but Kunzites hands were already there, undoing the tiny hooks. He put the offending piece of jewelry down on the table and she turned to look into his eyes.

"I don't love you," She told him. He smiled lightly.

"I'm glad, I think I'd avoid you if you thought you did," Devotion laughed, the first real smile of the night on her face.

"As long as we have that understanding," Minako told him with a grin.

"I think of you as a friend though, my first female friend really," He told her. She moved her head to the side.

"You are my only friend outside the scouts," She told him. He nodded absently.

"You understand life like no one else I know," He told her, an odd look in his eyes.

"And to think I'm not even 16 yet," She said with a grin. "How old are you?"

"19 last month," He answered after a moment.

"So cynical at such a young age," She commented softly.

"You aren't really one to talk princess," He told her in annoyance.

"Don't call me that. It sounds dirty and wasted coming from you," She told him, her face serious.

"Alright Devotion. I need to get back to the transport station. I'll tell Endymion I don't feel well or something equally tacky," He told her dryly, moving out of her room.

end flashback

Minako frowned in her remembering. Those weren't the thoughts that she had remembered originally. Why had she thought that? She had a sudden epiphany. The only reason she claimed to love Kunzite to the other girls was so that she didn't feel left out and broken. They had an understanding, but at that time neither one of them were really in love. So what did that mean? She stopped thinking, not really wanting to deal with everything at that moment. She stood up and wandered over to the radio, putting a hand in her pocket to again mask pulling out a CD and switching the two. Another rock song blared and she attacked the punching bag again.

"What did that thing ever do to you?" Came a voice as she hit it again. She turned and stared at the man in front of her, the one she was currently beating a punching bag because of. The man was confusing, even if didn't mean to be.

"I've been giving him a tour of the facilities," Relena, who was standing beside him, told her.

"Like what you've seen?" Minako asked innocently, not realizing the way it sounds.

"So far everything has been divine," He paused before saying the last word.

"Good," Minako twisted up into a round house, hitting the bag again. She grabbed her CD and turned back to the two adults.

"I was telling Ken that you seem to be the local expert of the Silver millennium," Relena told her, an odd look in her eyes.

"Oh? Well, I doubt I know more than Mr. Smith," She said with a shrug. Ken continued to watch her.

"Call me Ken, please," He told her. She smiled tightly before nodding and giving a slight bow.

"I have things to do Ken, Relena. I will see you tomorrow," She walked away quickly. The way that Kunzite looked at her made her feel uneasy. She didn't know if it was because she was used to him as the enemy, or if it was because he was almost thirty and it made her feel unwashed. He was supposed to be her true love, wasn't he?


	7. Past and Present

This chapter is dedicated to Athena Kyle, because she kicks some major ass as an author.

Past and Present

"Did you see the way that old guys eyes have been following Minako" Trent demanded of his friends later that night in his dorm.

"Who cares, she avoided him" Derek reminded the other boys.

"The point is that he's 27 and she's 17. It's dirty" Trent told them.

"Almost sounds like someone is jealous" Vince commented.

"You aren't" Derek asked, tossing a pillow at his friend.

"What's to be jealous of, she hasn't shown favor to anyone" Max reminded them all.

"So what do we do" Mel demanded of the older boys.

"We got to sleep and react tomorrow at the museum" Greg announced. He climbed up to the top of a bunk and flopped down, pulling a sheet half over him.

"Welcome to the sanq museum" Relena said with a large grin. She was wearing a pink skirt suit with a cream shirt underneath. It was a stark difference to the only other girl in the group. Minako was wearing a floor length jean skirt that had slits halfway up each thigh, a one shouldered sleeveless yellow top and a pair of flat blue sandals that laced around her ankles to be tied in a bow.

"Please remember Maxwell that none of the food you see is real, don't try to eat it" Wufei commented as the group moved forward. They wandered through many halls on their way to the Moon Kingdom room. Minako hung out toward the back of the group, Mel and Derek with her.

"So why are we hiding back here" Derek asked the girl as they walked into the room.

"Because I don't like Smith, or the way he looks at me" Minako told the two boys.

"So you're going to run from him" Mel demanded quietly.

"No, I'm just avoiding the problem for a few moments. Do you know what Instructor Wufei will do if he sees Smith looking at my ass all the time" Minako asked the two with mock horror clearly on her face.

"I actually think I might enjoy that" Mel told her, a wide grin splitting his freckled face.

"Me too" Derek agreed, sighing in pleasure.

"You two are mean" She told them as she walked into the room. People were all around, milling around the large room, staring at the few sculptures that were found and the pieces of intricately carves wall that had been found as well as the paintings that Smith and his colleagues had painted.

The first thing that caught her eye was a small sculpture that said 'Princess of Venus' below it on the plaque. It was a picture of her, from the waist up, wearing a beautiful gown, her hair up in a jeweled head piece that circled her head and allowed her hair to fall regally. Her eyes were closed and there was a tiny smile on her face as she danced alone.

"Holy shit, it's you" Derek told her in surprise.

"When he said you looked just like Venus, I thought he meant there was a vague resemblance. You _are_ her" Mel agreed. Minako shrugged, glancing at other things. She decided that she would stick to the paintings. There was a group of small paintings over against a wall. She almost laughed. There she was in uniform, standing on the top of a building with a crescent moon behind her. All the scouts were arrayed the same, with Usagi in princess form in the center.

She noticed small variances from reality. Makoto's hair was brown instead of dark auburn. Hotaru looked mean when she should look emotionless. Ami's hair was black with blue highlights instead of blue. Haruka's hair hung to her chin instead of the top of her ears. Michiru's hair was sky blue instead of aqua. Rei's eyes were brown instead of purple. Setsuna's hair fell to her knee's instead of her ankles. Serenity's hair was white instead of silver. The mistakes made her homesick.

"Minako, come here and stand beside this picture, would you" Ken called over to her. He had a camera in his hand. Relena was standing beside him.

"He probably wants to keep it under his pillow" Derek said quietly. Minako shot him a dirty look before complying. She stared at the picture in shock first though. It scared her more than a little. She stood with her love chain in one hand, the ends coiled beside her feet. She was standing in the middle of a battle field, rage and pain masking her pain. The suggestion of death was all around her. It made her want to cry, it was her in the battle to save the moon kingdom, the battle she and her friends had lost.

"Alright, take the picture" She told him, turning around and looking straight at him. She unconsciously took the same pose that the picture had, only instead of a whip she had a rolled up flier. She didn't smile or smirk, she simply stared blankly at the camera. He clicked it once and she headed back to her friends.

"Wait, can I take a few more" He asked. Minako sighed and turned around.

"I'm here to look at the pictures, not pose for them" She told him, joining the two boys. Trent and Max joined them.

"This picture is erie" Trent commented, staring at a picture of Saturn. Hotaru was in uniform, looking slightly over her shoulder so that you could see the look on her face. She was lonely and sad. Her glaive was loosely in her left hand.

"That's Saturn, the soldier of silence" Smith said from right behind them.

"Death and rebirth as well" Minako added.

"Isn't she breathtaking? So much need and sadness" He said, looking at Minako.

"I guess the pictures alright" Minako said with a shrug. Hotaru's hair was too long, the color was off on the hair as well, her sleeves were wrong, and the glaive was a little to short. She was also rather curvy instead of thin and airy. Hotaru reminded Minako of a wraith, a shadow, an ethereal creature that could vanish at any moment.

"You do know she's seventeen, right" Trent whispered to the man as he stared at the blonde as she moved one.

"I beg your pardon" Ken demanded. Trent simply lifted an eyebrow before following her.

"I like this one" Minako told him. Makoto was wearing a dark green ball dress, holding it out as she walked down a sweeping set of stairs. Her hair was up in it's usual style, a gold band holding it together with a pink rose tucked in. She wore green opera gloves and a heavy gold necklace that had a single Emerald in it's center. She was smiling at someone that you couldn't see and looked very happy.

"She's hot" Trent said, nodding his head. Minako smacked him on the arm.

"You boys all think the same way" Minako accused.

"Nothing wrong with that" Trent told her, laughing.

Two hours later people were getting bored and the trip was wrapping up. Ken had continued to bother Minako, asking for a picture here and another there. She had her problems with the pictures, but she knew that she couldn't do anything about them. Derek had given her a few odd looks, rather thoughtful actually.

"Alright you lazy brutes, onto the bus" Relena announced as they left.

"Does that mean I get to stay and look around some more" Minako asked with a smile.

"And deprive your adoring slaves of you presence" Vince asked, tossing her over his shoulder and climbing onto the bus.

"You know, I'm not sure if I approve of people man handling the only female student that has a chance of lasting the entire time" Relena commented with a laugh.

"Just ignore them, I do" Wufei said before getting into the drivers seat. Minako noted that she was almost all the way in the back and that all the seats around her were filled, leaving the only place for Ken to sit, up in the front. He had first searched for a place near her with his eyes though. Minako frowned at the man.

"So you noticed too, huh" Greg asked the girl, giving the man a menacing look.

"I tend to notice when someone's practically stalking me" Minako muttered drily.

"Don't worry, we're not gonna let some old guy go after you when you could choose one of us" George said with a grin.

"Yeah, well, I wont be dating anyone until I graduate. I don't need that kind of crap when I'm the only chick going to the school" Minako told them.

"That's not cool" Vince told her. He was sitting beside her and she was currently using him as a pillow.

"Why" She asked him. Max answered.

"You are probably the most beautiful girl any of us will ever see. Now we find out you're completely unavailable" He told her, running a hand through his dark brown hair. Minako frowned lightly at them.

"Max, you're sweet, all of you are. But I'm not going to date anyone in the school, especially not you guys. You're like the brothers I never had" She told them with a smile.

"Didn't you date at your other school" George asked.

"Yes, but that school was only for girls. I'm an only child who hasn't seen her parents since she was 11. They sent me off to school and because of that I try not to mess up friendships that I make" Minako told them.

"What have your parents been doing" Mel asked.

"This and that, I really don't know. All I do know is that I miss my cat, Artemis" Minako told them with a grin.

"You're such a girl" Derek teased her. Minako stuck her tongue out at him.

"Real mature princess" Trent told her with a laugh. Minako gave him a patented Luna look and said primly.

"I am more mature than any of you boys" she pushed her hair behind her shoulders.

"Oh yeah" Trent asked.

"Yeah" Minako grinned and sat forward.

"Thumb war" Trent said, holding his hand out.

"You're on" Minako grabbed his hands.

"1 2 3 4 I declare a thumb war" The two said in unison"5 6 7 8 try to keep your thumb straight" It was on. Boys were cheering on the two loudly.

"Kick his ass Minako" Derek shouted loudly, drawing the attention of Duo, who was up front. He had been bored almost the entire trip. Sure it was pretty to look at paintings, but it got old after twenty minutes or so.

"What are you guys doing" He called back.

"Thumb war between Minako and Trent" Mel called back.

"Kick his ass Minako" Duo shouted.

"Don't hurt him Minako" Relena added.

"Hey, why is everyone against me" Trent asked good naturedly.

"She's better looking" Vince told his brother with a grin. At the end of the bus ride, Minako had won four out of seven matches.

"I'm queen of the world" Minako shouted from her perch. As a penalty for losing, Trent was to give her a piggy back ride to the cafeteria.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm jealous" Mel remarked.

"Why is that" Derek asked his friend.

"Do you see those legs" Mel asked, shaking his head. Derek looked at her and shrugged.

"She's gorgeous, so what? She said it herself. We're like brothers. So try not to fall in love with the girl" Derek told him with a smile.

"Too late" Mel said with a sigh. Derek shook his head and tossed an arm over his friends shoulders. They two followed the group to the cafeteria.

Minako walked into her room that night tired. So far every night that week she had gotten letters from home, thanks to Setsuna. Unfortunately Setsuna hadn't answered the one letter she had sent the woman. She had asked for help. She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she knew that eventually someone would figure out her secret. She was also lonely. She loved the school and everyone in it, but she was homesick to a rather large extant. There was a single letter on her bed tonight.

Minako -

Well my dear. You get your wish. Someone will be coming to join you soon. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. She has been bothering me about it since you left, not wanting you to be alone in a strange place you may or may not understand completely. I have told you before, follow your heart, not your mind. In the end it will choose the wisest course.

- Setsuna

Minako re-read the letter many times before she put it in the box of letters she had so far gotten. She walked to her door and opened it after someone knocked.

"Derek, did you need something" she asked the boy in surprise. He cocked his head to the side and smiled.

"Can I come in for a minute" He asked her. Minako widened the door and swept her arm through.

"Sure" She told him. She walked over and sat on her bed as he glanced at her walls.

"It's kind of odd how you and your friends look just like all those girls in the paintings" Derek commented.

"I don't think we're so alike" Minako commented with a wave of her hand. Derek looked at her hard.

"That's 'cause they didn't quite get your looks right. Are you really them or are you some sort of reincarnation? It's too much coincidence. It's also why you know so much about the lore. Why you believe in it when so few do" He told her, sitting down beside her.

"One of my friends will be transferring over here soon" Minako commented.

"Which one" He asked, looking at a picture of all of them.

"I don't know" Minako said with a shrug.

"But she'll look like one of the Scouts, wont she" Derek asked with a chuckle.

"Yup, most definitely" Minako agreed.

"You didn't answer my question" Derek reminded her. Minako thought for a moment and then smiled at him.

"Sailor Pluto told me to trust my heart rather than my head. So I'm going to admit it to you, I am Sailor Venus, Princess of Venus. I was sent here because I was lonely and I wanted friends besides the scouts, that and I need to brush up on certain skills" Minako told him. Derek smiled.

"That's more than a little creepy, but I can see how it fits. I wont tell anyone, but don't be surprised if they figure it out on their own" He warned her.

"I wont" Minako told him with a smile. He left then, closing the door behind him and leaving Minako with a jumble of thoughts she couldn't quite sift through.

(1 week later)

The newly turned seventeen year old stopped her motorcycle outside the school. She pulled her helmet off and shook out her hair. She sat back and stared at the front of the school for a few minutes. She considered everything that she had recently learned thanks to Setsuna.

"You must be the new chick" Called a boy coming around the side of the building. She nodded once before swinging her leg over the black and silver bike and standing up.

"Do you know if my bags showed up" She asked the boy. He was standing staring at her in slight shock.

"Yeah, it got us to talking last night" He told her.

"Good" She nodded to him again, leaving her helmet on her bike and the saddle bags on it as well. She entered the main doors and looked around for a moment, her face expressionless.

"Can I help you" Asked a rather surprised boy that looked to be about her own age. He was looking her up and down in surprised happiness. She was wearing a pair of flared low riding black leather pants, black leather ankle boots, and a long sleeved black turtle neck that stopped just about the waist of her pants, leaving barely a hint of skin to show, over the top of it was black racer jacket.

"I need to find whoever is in charge. I'm the new transfer" she told him quietly.

"This way" He told her with a soft chuckle. He walked through a large room that looked to be a cafeteria of some sort since it was filled with people that were eating. She followed him on his way up to a table at the front.

"Hotaru" A decisively feminine voice shouted in surprise. The purple eyed girl in question twisted around quickly, a smile splitting her face.

"Minako" She said happily as the other girl ran over and hugged her.

"Wow, what are you doing here" Minako asked happily. She was wearing white yoga pants and a yellow baseball tee shirt. Her hair was in a long french braid with her red bow tied to the bottom.

"I'm the new transfer" Hotaru said with a laugh. Her voice was still oddly quiet. The boy who had been leading Hotaru cleared his throat.

"Sorry, did I steal you're girl Billy" Minako asked, her hand at the back of her head.

"If she's a friend of yours you can take her up to the head honcho's" Billy told her with a grin.

"Yes! More eye candy" Vince shouted, get up and doing a little dance. Minako looked back at him and shook her head.

"I take it he's a friend of yours" Hotaru asked with a small smile.

"Of course" Minako brought her friend up to the teacher table and smiled at everyone.

"This is Hotaru Tomoe" Minako introduced her.

"Fresh meat" Duo said happily.

"Welcome Miss Tomoe, have you had anything to eat" Quatre asked after scolding Duo and introducing everyone.

"Not yet, but my bike is out front and I don't know where to put it, or my bag" Hotaru told them.

"Minako" Relena asked the girl.

"I can show her to her room, and I'll grab one of the guys to show us where to put the bike" Minako told her.

"Off you go then, and I'll stop by to grab her in an hour or so" Dorothy told the blonde with a grin. Minako took her friends hand and lead her off quickly.

"Derek, follow me" She commanded as went. The dark haired boy stood up and followed them. In the past week she had explained all about her history with the scouts. All except the generals of course. It was nice to have a confidante. She lead them out to the front and heard a low whistle.

"Nice" Derek commented, staring at the vehicle.

"Thanks, I got it from my father figure" Hotaru grinned at Minako.

"Michiru let Haruka give it to you" Minako asked in surprise.

"After I told her I would have it in the end whether she liked it or not" Hotaru said with a shrug.

"Poor Michiru" Minako said with a chuckle.

"You want me to show you where to put this" Derek asked, a gleam in his eye.

"Yes, please" Hotaru told him.

"This way" He told her, practically skipping ahead of them as Hotaru pushed the bike.

"So, you were worried enough to join me" Minako asked, touched.

"I know what it's like to be lonely" Hotaru told her with a shrug.

"Thanks" Minako reached over and hugged the girl before running up and telling Derek that he was going to fast, and asking for a piggy back ride.

"Now he'll stay with us back here" Minako said with a smile as he walked beside Hotaru.

"Dude, you're shorter than your girlfriends too, Minako" Derek told her with a chuckle.

"Quiet lackey" Minako said, rapping him on the shoulder. They led Hotaru into a large covered parking lot.

"It's thanks to Duo that the lot is covered, he didn't like the idea of the vehicles getting water spots" Derek said with a grin as Minako hopped off his back.

"Good for me" Hotaru said with a shrug. She set the bike in an empty spot.

"Femme Fatale" Minako asked with a laugh as she noted the license place. FM FTL was on it with a barbed wire and roses intricate silver holder. Hotaru shrugged as she pulled the saddle bags off of the bike and tossed them over her shoulder before grabbing her helmet.

"I'm gonna take off Minako, I'm sure you can find your way now" Derek told them, giving an elaborate bow.

"Having fun so far" Hotaru asked her friend.

"Yes, except for the whole Kunzite thing" Minako said with a shrug of her own.

"I can see where that would be annoying" Hotaru agreed.

"So how is your wardrobe" Minako asked her taller friend with a grin.

"Two regular uniforms, the rest is for me. I'm also to tell you that you will find a small duffel bag for your classes with Wufei in your closet" Hotaru told Minako with a grin of her own.

"Lovely . . . but how did you luck out on the clothes" The blonde demanded.

"I wasn't as nice as you. I have decided that it is far past time for me to grow up. Why do you think I was aging so fast after the defeat of chaos" Hotaru asked.

"I honestly didn't think about it" Minako said apologetically.

"That's alright" Hotaru told her with a smile.

"I like your new look though" Minako said with a smile as she took in Hotaru's clothes. Hotaru blushed lightly at that remark.

"I haven't changed my clothes that much. Michi-mama requested this outfit. She said if I was going to ride, I was going to ride in style" Hotaru admitted.

"So you got leather pants? I'm going to ask Haruka for a motorcycle" Minako declared. Hotaru grinned a little.

"Wait for your eighteenth birthday, Motorcycles aren't really you anyway" The dark girl told her friend conspiratorially.

"Ooh, I'm getting a car or something" Minako shouted happily.

"Room" Hotaru asked her. Minako nodded happily.

"Here" Minako said, opening the door across from her. The walls were violet and bare of paintings of any sort. The luggage (dark purple with black roses) was stacked in a corner with a long slim case standing up behind it. The bed was in a corner against the wall, the comforter was black as were the pillows, the sheets were purple satin. Setsuna had something to do with the color scheme.

"I like it" Hotaru said, nodding her head.

"Bathrooms here" Minako pointed to the westward door"Closets there" She pointed at the eastern door. There were no windows in this room, but Hotaru didn't mind. There was a table beside here bed with a lamp on it, and a dresser on the far wall. Hotaru calmly tacked two hooks into the wall and walked over to the long case. She opened it and pulled out her silence glaive.

"This should always be near me" Hotaru said, placing it on the hooks so that it hung at an angle, the blade toward the ceiling, on the wall beside her bed. She calmly started to unpack her bags, Minako chatting ceaselessly. There was a knock on the door just as she finished unpacking her things and setting them around the room. The only things on her walls were weapons. Pictures were ranged across the top of her dresser with a single picture beside her bed, on the table, of Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka. She had also changed into one of her more usual outfits. Thick black leggings, black ballet slippers, and a long sleeved, turtle neck dress with an extremely short skirt that fit like a glove to the waistband and then flared out to mid thigh, fluttering as she walked.

"Time for testing" Dorothy announced to the girls.

"Alright" Hotaru stood and took her glaive from the wall.

"We have staffs for you to use" Dorothy commented, eyeing the weapon with interest.

"The staff to the glaive is like a flare gun to a sawed off shotgun" Hotaru remarked casually. Dorothy's eyebrow went up.

"Oh I like you" She said with a cat grin.

"Where I go, my glaive goes except unusual circumstances like today, my former teachers did not think it wise to carry it onto a shuttle" Hotaru told the woman.

"Yup, I definitely like you. Follow me" She told her. Minako ran to the rec room and found only a few people there. Trent, Derek and Mel were three of the seven people.

"Hotaru's being tested" She announced. Trent grabbed the remote and typed in a code. Instantly the area by the training shed was on the screen. She looked around and found that only she and Trent were in the room now.

"They went to round up the rest of the guys" Trent said by way of explanation.

"I get this spot" Minako announced, planting herself cross legged directly in front of the TV.

"Sweet, it's just starting" Vince shouted, laying down beside her. Hotaru and Dorothy had just appeared. Some whistled loudly.

"What is that thing" A boy asked. He was obviously talking about Hotaru's weapon of choice.

"A glaive. Hotaru is frightening with it" Minako commented. Hotaru leaned it against the wall of the building. Dorothy came out with an assortment of weapons. She handed knives to Hotaru, who tossed them into the targets. Stars quickly followed. Dorothy grabbed a staff and Hotaru took up two long daggers, one in each hand. She used the daggers to block the staff, chipping the wood easily each time. Dorothy said something and Hotaru nodded, a few seconds later the staff was on the ground and there was a dagger at Dorothy's throat and another pointed at her kidney's.

"That was scary" Mel commented. He was sitting a little behind Minako.

"That's nothing, wait till she picks up the staff. She makes me look like I've been using it for mere days" Minako commented. Hotaru's face through the entire thing was calm. She didn't show emotion, she kept cool in the face of everything. Next she was handed Kali sticks and she played about for a while before turning and facing Dorothy. Dorothy used kali sticks as well, jabbing and slicing at Hotaru. Hotaru blocked everything thrown her way and then, at a word from Dorothy, the sticks blurred until suddenly Dorothy's sticks were knocked away and Hotaru's sticks were at her neck and the side of her head. Dorothy smiled widely.

"Dude, Minako, she's better than you" A guy commented.

"What's that supposed to mean" Minako asked, curious about that tone he used.

"You're the best chick we've seen come in here, she's better than you" Trent told her with a chuckle.

"Only at some things" Minako said with a pout.

"Dude, did you see that" Another guy exclaimed. Hotaru had the staff. Minako was considered quite the expert with the staff after taking down Dorothy like that. Hotaru had Dorothy's staff 10 yards away from her and her own staff at the woman's stomach.

"Told ya so" Minako said with a laugh. Evidently the two women were done with the testing, because they were leaving.

"Let's watch the staff on slow" Commented one guy. Minako stood up and went to the back of the room, waiting for Hotaru to show up. She did about three minutes later. The boys were watching the staff fight again.

"Very nice Hotaru" Minako said with a laugh, hugging her friend.

"Thank you" Hotaru said with a nod.

"That was awesome" Derek cried, looking at the dark haired girl.

"It's a reason for you to stay away from my bike. I wont have a problem with turning you into a permanent soprano" Hotaru commented before heading to her room. Derek blanched as he watched the girl walk away.

"She's hot, but she's scary" George announced.

"She's gorgeous, no offense Minako" Commented another guy. Minako smiled.

"Don't worry, we grew up together. She's the prettiest of all of us" Minako said with a smile. She waved at everyone and walked to her room.

"Dude, the new chick is beautiful, even better than Minako" Commented one boy.

"Man, Minako's so much better" another commented.

"Minako's tiny, but she's got the curves" Another agreed.

"But Hotaru's got leg's. She's got that whole model look going on" Commented someone else.

"She looks like she should be taken care of" someone said derisively.

"So does Minako"

"Hotaru's like a porcelain doll, delicate and breakable. Like the wind could knock her over"

"Minako looks like you could make a face at her and she'd scream"

"Looks can be deceiving. They are both your fellow students and it's time for you to be heading to bed" Dorothy announced to the room. The boys left quickly.

"This isn't exactly a good thing" Commented Relena.

"You have two beautiful girls who are just as able as the boys, if not more so, and you didn't expect things like this to happen" Dorothy asked, a serious expression on her face.

"Hopefully it will all end well" Relena said with a slight frown.

XXX

I know, I haven't updated forever, but please forgive me. 13 pages of writing. Give me more idea's, please. I also am still looking for a title for this particular piece of fiction. So suggestions would be nice. No Stevie, I am not naming it 'Kill Kunzite' stop asking.

Aphrodite2 - I'm glad you liked it and thanks for the review. Hopefully your still reading, even if I am terrible at the update thing.

Dragon-Rose-Vine - I'm glad that you like my stories, I'm always positive that people don't really care, they just say meaningless things. Here's another chapter!

Xtreme Nuisance - Yes it was her 16th birthday. So much for sweet sixteen, eh? Thanks for leaving a review. Give me ideas and all that.

Anime Girl - Yeah ... I'm not thinking they'll be together. They might not even be friends. I'm not sure about that yet. And now Hotaru's here too ... I dunno, something's gonna happen. Give me idea's, I crave it.

Silver Wolf of Cosmos - Hmmm ... I kinda like Stronger Venus, but I'm not entirely sure, not offense or anything. Give me more idea's, you seem good at this title deal.

Moonjava - I always end my reviews 'write more soon' so it made me laugh when I read that on yours. Kudo's, it made me update faster ... what can I say, I'm not so good at this update in a time limit thing.

FLAMER- The Truth Hurts: Alright. First of all, your first sentence, horrible grammar. I would also like to mention that it was giving background information. If you want me to improve, give me things to improve ON. I will try if you give me an idea as to what you didn't like. I'm sorry that you believe my story is trivial and stupid. If this is the case why did you bother finishing it? I would honestly like to know. I'm not going to give up because I don't want to. I might not get a lot of people reading this, but I have a few that really like it, so I'm gonna keep with it for them. Hey, look at that, I brought in another character. Thanks for the idea. I'm sorry you don't feel that I'm very good at writing, but that doesn't mean I am going to stop. After all, practice makes perfect.

NOW PLEASE REVIEW!

- Damia


	8. Hotaru's WakeUp Skills

This chapter is for Snake (simply because I said so)

XXX

Hotaru came out of her room fully dressed in thick black tights, ballet flats and a black dress. She almost always wore the same clothes. It wasn't that she didn't have style, it was simply that she was most comfortable dressed like this. She walked to the cafeteria and sat down, looking at the boys with veiled amusement. They were all staring at her in surprise.

"What?" She asked after a few moments.

"It's just, Minako ... well," Mel got cut off by a flick of Hotaru's graceful wrist.

"Minako's a lazy butt," Hotary told him airily. Trent and Vince snickered. She turned to Derek. "Come with me," She told him, standing up and walking toward the door. After a quick glance at the other guys Derek followed her. Hotaru and Minako weren't really a whole lot alike.

"So, is this gonna hurt?" he asked her jokingly. She turned and gave him the barest hint of a smile.

"It wont hurt me," She told him. He frowned as she walked into Minako's room.

"Is it going to hurt me?" He demanded, closing the door as he entered. Hotaru ignored him and walked over to Minako's sleeping form. Thankfully Derek no longer noticed the skimpy things that Minako slept in. He was actually a little worried at his lack of reaction.

"Minako?" Hotaru called softly. Minako didn't stir. Hotaru grabbed a fist full of long blonde hair and yanked. A shriek erupted from the now fully awake Minako.

"You evil harbinger of death," Minako shouted at the dark haired girl. She was standing on her bed, the baggy blue shirt barely covering her bottom.

"Messenger of Death, and I can see your underwear, go get dressed and come to breakfast," Hotaru said with an irritating smile. Minako glowered.

"I hate you," She told her grumpily.

"Love you too, see you at breakfast," Hotaru said, shoving Derek out of Minako's room.

"Why did you bring me?" Derek wanted to know. Hotaru looked at him blankly.

"So you know how to do it," She told him calmly. Derek looked at her as if she were crazy.

"I am not pulling Minako's hair, I don't have a death wish," He informed her. She laughed as they entered the cafeteria.

"She wont kill you, maim you? possibly. Scream at you? Definately. Kill you? Never," Hotaru put a couple slices of toast on a plate and went to the table.

"You got Minako up that quick?" Vince asked in surprise. Hotaru nodded.

"How'd you do it?" Mel asked.

"She pulled her hair," Derek told him. The guys stared at her for a moment.

"Do you have a death wish?" Trent wanted to know. Hotaru scratched her neck.

"You do realize that you are all at least twice her size? She's pretty harmless," Hotaru told them.

"She's ... scary," Donny said. Hotaru shrugged.

"Not if you've seen her in some of the positions I have," Hotaru answered them all. That gave the guys all sorts of questions to ask, but Hotaru didn't answer any of them.

XXX

Damia - "I'm sorry it's been so long. Please give me some idea's, I've run so dry my brain is dusty,"


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